Color-Switchable Subwavelength Organic Light-Emitting Antennas

Abstract

Future photonic devices require efficient, multifunctional, electrically driven light sources with directional emission properties and subwavelength dimensions. Electrically driven plasmonic nanoantennas have been demonstrated as enabling technology. Here, we present the concept of a nanoscale organic light-emitting antenna (OLEA) as a color- and directionality-switchable point source. The device consists of laterally arranged electrically contacted gold nanoantennas with their gap filled by the organic semiconductor zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc). Since ZnPc shows preferred hole conduction in combination with gold, the recombination zone relocates depending on the polarity of the applied voltage and couples selectively to either of the two antennas. Thereby, the emission characteristics of the device also depend on polarity. Contrary to large-area OLEDs where recombination at metal contacts significantly contributes to losses, our ultracompact OLEA structures facilitate efficient radiation into the far-field rendering transparent electrodes obsolete. We envision OLEA structures to serve as wavelength-scale pixels with tunable color and directionality for advanced display applications.