Resonant cavity light-emitting diode

A novel concept of a light-emitting diode (LED) is proposed and demonstrated in which the active region of the device is placed in a resonant optical cavity. As a consequence, the optical emission from the active region is restricted to the modes of the cavity. Resonant cavity light-emitting diodes (RCLED) have higher spectral purity and higher emission intensity as compared to conventional light emitting diodes. Results on a top-emitting RCLED structure with AlAs/AlxGa1−xAs quarter wave mirrors grown by molecular beam epitaxy are presented. The experimental emission linewidth is 17 meV (0.65 kT) at room temperature. The top-emission intensity is a factor of 1.7 higher as compared to conventional LEDs.