Abstract
There is a continuing need for the development of cost-effective and sustainable mid-infrared light sources for applications such as gas sensing and infrared beacons. A natural replacement for the conventional incandescent sources still widely used in such applications is semiconductor LEDs, but to achieve emission at long wavelengths requires the realization of devices with narrow effective bandgaps, inherently leading to relatively poor internal and external quantum efficiencies. Recently, the technological potential of graphene-based incandescent emitters has been recognized, in part due to the ability of graphene to sustain extremely large current densities. Here, we introduce a simple architecture, consisting of a back-reflector behind a multilayer graphene filament, which we use to produce emitters with wall-plug-efficiencies comparable to state-of-the art semiconductor cascade LEDs. Coupled with the potential for high-speed modulation, resulting from the low thermal mass, our results demonstrate the feasibility of creating practicable infrared sources.
Highlights
A natural replacement for the conventional incandescent sources still widely used in such applications is semiconductor LEDs, but to achieve emission at long wavelengths requires the realization of devices with narrow effective bandgaps, inherently leading to relatively poor internal and external quantum efficiencies
We demonstrate an infrared light source, incorporating a multilayer graphene (MLG) emitter layer and a Salisbury screen back-reflector with wall-plug efficiency (WPE) comparable to state-of-the art semiconductor cascade LEDs
The behavior of the graphene based emitting devices can be described using two theoretical approaches: an analytic model based on the fluctuation-dissipation theorem (FDT)23 for a device in nonthermal equilibrium, and the application of Kirchhoff’s law of thermal radiation to approximate the device as being in thermal equilibrium
Summary
The behavior of the graphene based emitting devices can be described using two theoretical approaches: an analytic model based on the fluctuation-dissipation theorem (FDT)23 for a device in nonthermal equilibrium, and the application of Kirchhoff’s law of thermal radiation to approximate the device as being in thermal equilibrium. The fits to the measured data using the second theoretical approach, which assumes the device is in thermal equilibrium [Eq (2)], were identical [and for completeness is shown in supplementary material Fig. 1(a)].
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