Korean researchers from Department of Bio and Brain Engineering and KAIST Institute for Optical Science and Technology have been able to boost OLED efficiency significantly by imitating nanostructures found in fireflies, according to a latest paper published in Nano Letters.
Fireflies are said to be most luminous efficient insects among the many bioluminescent bugs, and this is mainly because nanostructures in the firefly’s lantern has enhanced the conspicuous optical signaling.
The Korean team found longitudinal nanostructures and asymmetric microstructures in fireflies, could be replicated onto OLEDs using geometry-guided resist reflow, replica molding, and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) oxidation.
The new firefly inspired OLEDs external quantum efficiency (EQE) was boosted by 61%, and showed side-enhanced super-Lambertian emission with a wide-viewing angle. The research team suggests the wide angle illumination suggest how the hierarchical structures could improve the recognition of firefly optical courtship signals over a wide-angle range.
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