Improved light emission of GaN-based light-emitting diodes by efficient localized surface plasmon coupling with silver nanoparticles

•A simply fabricated platform for high efficiency plasmonic LED is demonstrated.•Blue light emission is increased by 4.4-fold via localized surface plasmon coupling.•A 1.5-fold higher spontaneous emission rate confirms the fast recombination channel.•53% enhancement in internal quantum efficiency was performed.

An approach for fabricating localized surface plasmon (LSP)-enhanced light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with Ag nanoparticles (NPs) in close proximity to the active layers is demonstrated. The blue light emission from InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs) is increased by 4.4-fold at a wavelength of 470 nm. A faster decay time and a ∼1.5-fold higher spontaneous emission rate confirm the fast recombination channel provided by the LSP coupling mode of the Ag NPs. The internal quantum efficiency is improved by ∼53%. The proposed approach provides a low-cost, large-area, and simple platform for the development of high-efficiency InGaN-based plasmonic LEDs.

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