Compound Ag nanocluster-graphene electrodes as transparent and current spreading electrodes for improved light output power in near-ultraviolet light emitting diodes

Abstract

We introduced a two-dimensional graphene network on a Ag nanocluster as a transparent and current spreading electrode (TCSE) for a near-ultraviolet light emitting diode (NUV-LED), and compared the performance with those with graphene electrodes or conventional indium tin oxide (ITO) electrodes. The current–voltage characteristics and electroluminescence (EL) data showed that compound Ag nanocluster-graphene (CA-G) electrodes operated well as TCSEs in NUV-LED devices. The forward voltage at an input current of 20 mA was 4.06 V for the NUV-LED of current spreading electrodes with CA-G electrodes, which is only slightly higher than the value 3.96 V with ITO electrodes as TCSEs. The EL intensity of NUV-LEDs with CA-G electrodes also showed a slight increase, compared to that of NUV-LEDs with planar ITO transparent conducting electrodes.