8 COMSOL, COMSOL Blog Simulation Paves the Way for More Efficient OLED Devices April 7, 2026 When it comes to creating the next generation of fat panel displays and solid-state area ighting, organic lightsemitting diodes, or OLEDs, may be used to help. While recogrized for its various advantages, this emerging technology suffers from some weaknesses that reduce its overall efficiency. One such example slight loss, which is partially causea by the plasmon coupling effect. Looking to reduce the effect's prominence in OLED devices, researchers from Konica Minolta Laboratory turned to the COMSOL Multiphysics® software Shedding Light on an Innovative Technology: Organic Light-Emitting Diodes ‘What i airplane walls could appear transparent, offering an expansive view while flying high above the clouds? Now, imagine if these same lightweight windows could also double as Interactive entertainment screens (htigs/wwowsk-coicom/windowless-fuselage/# VBI pkURL. Such advancements could translate into greater fuel and cost savings, while providing further space and comfort for passengers. With the help of an ‘emerging technology — organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) ~ these ideas are becoming a tential realty. ‘A lexble OLED device. Image by meharris. Licensed under CCRV-SA 20 (httns,/creativecommonsorg/icenses/by-sa/3,0/deed.en, vi Wikimedia ‘Commons (ntis:/commons wikimedia.org/wik/Fle-OLED EaryProduc. JPG). COLEDS function similarly to LED lights. except that they use organic molecules to produce light. This newer technology is valued for its many favorable attributes, including being thin flexible, lightwright, and bright. In general, OLEDS also feature alow operating voltage 2s well 3s low power consumption. Significant light loss, however, is an important concern, with only 20% of emitted light leaving OLED devices. This translate into a low outcoupiing efficiency and low eneray efficiency, So what, you might wonder, isthe cause of such light loss? Several factors can contribute. For instance, mismatches inthe refractive index between the different OLED layers can result toal internal reflections. Another potential source is ight coupling to surface plasmons at the metal cathode, ‘As a leader in the development of OLED lighting panels, Konica Minolta Laboratory noticed a lack of research behind the latter of these two cases — the plasmon effect. Using the RF Module in COMSOL Multiphysics, the team sought to analyze how plasmon coupling and structure Impact the efficiency of OLEDS, presenting thelr findings at the COMSOL Conference 2015 Boston Using Simulation to Analyze Plasmon Loss in OLEDs ‘To begin, et’ take a closer look atthe Inner workings of an OLED. Such devices typically consist of two or more layers of organic material placed between two electrodes, namely the anode and cathode. ll of these components are deposited on a substrate, which is often made of glass or plastic “The diagram below provides an overview ofthe diferent individual ayers. They include a metal (Ag) cathode; three organic layers: the electron transport layer (ETL), emitting layer EML, and hole transport layer (HTL): a transparent anode (commonly made ofan indium tin oxide, or ITO) and a substrate,Out-coupling efficiency (~ 20%) ‘The structure ofan OLED. Image by Leiming Wang, Jun Amano, and Po-Chich Hung and taken from their COMSOL Conference 2015 Boston resentation ‘ito, comsolcom/noper/download/ 25729 1/wane presentation.odf. “The metal cathode, referred to as a metal electrode inthe diagram above Is an important point of focus in plasmon loss. Infact, around 40% of the total emitted lignt ends up coupling to surface alasmons at this point ~ a significant percentage of the total emission, Reducing plasmon lass atthe metal cathode is therefore an essental step when designing OLEDs, Looking todo just thatthe researc tam at Konica Minolta Laboratory used simulation to test the impact of incorporating 2 nanostructured or ranogatng cathode structure nt thet OLED desig. Here's an overview of what hey fund Does Using a Nanograting Cathode Structure Improve OLED Efficiency? When begining thei research sues, the teams itl stop was to analyze made distribution and plasma coupling in real space odo so they used a 2D simulation of a multilayer bottom-emitting OLED. This made it possible to easily identity the coupling of dipole emission into various Tight modes, ‘The nial set of results indicates thatthe waveguide mode does not contibute to light emission, as it essentially propagates toward the sides. With that in mind, the researchers shifted ther attention to a wave featuring SPP wave characteristics, which you can see highlighted in the following figure. A surface plasmon polarization (SPP) wave isa surface wave thats confined toa narrow region at the boundary between the metal cathode and the neighboring electron transport layer. ‘The studies show that the excitation ofthe SPP wave at the cathode Interface, and thus the coupling of dipole emissions into SPP, appears to be the main reason for plasmon loss. The findings ultimately confirmed the team’s decision to focus on evaluating plasmon loss and designing an alternate eathode structure. ® 1000 nm lass Neha Ss8 ecto 0 5000 x(am) ‘The simulation domain in 20 (top) and the field dstributon of a multilayer OLED structure's dipole emission ottom). images by Leiming Wong, Jun ‘Amano, and Po-Chieh Hung and taken from their COMSOL Conference 2015 Boston naer ‘ites comsolcom/uaner/download/ 257261 /wans paver‘The next item on the lst was to measure the plasmon coupling effect for both flat and nanograting cathode structures. Creating electromagnetic ‘models of the plasmon coupling effect at the metal cathode was required step forthe analysis. In an effort to focus specifically on the plasmon effect, the tear used a simple model representing an Ag/EMAL structure featuring two layers. Te {httns./evyoy.comsoLcom/muli : (FEM) model enabled the researchers to simulate optical effects resulting from arbitrary subwavelength structures, which can be rather diffcult to achieve through analytical simulations From the results it's possible to draw 2 comparison between the dipole emission fora flat interface and a nanograting interface. The flat interface model (shown in tne image below on the top) ilustrates thatthe dipole emission is primarily coupled to the SPP wave, with just a small “amount raciated out as usable light. On the other hand, SPP coupling is greatly suppressed when vsing a nanograting interface (shown in the image below on the bottom). Such findings suggest that using a nanostructured cathode can help significantly reduce plasmon loss. Before drawing any tinal conclusions, however, the team wanted to compare the two structures ina few other ways. 5000 ° x(n) ‘A fied distribution simulation of «dipole emission for te two-layer OLED structure with a flat top) and nangratng (bottom) interface. The insert, located in the bottom right-hand corner, depicts the structural parameters ofthe nanograting cathode. mages by Leiming Wang, Jun Amano, and Po- CChieh Hung and token from their COMSOL Conference 2015 Bostan paper (hic: waw.comsol com/paper/downlood/25728 1/wons poper.pd For further insight into the structures, a power flow analysis was performed. The researchers were able to use the results found here to caleulate ‘the partition of total emission power into the light mode and plasmon mode. The results from this study refined the team’s earlier research by suggesting that to significantly reduce plasmon loss when using a nanograting structure, the cathode and emission layer must be less than 100 rm apart from one another. ‘The simulation studies uo untl this point involved the use of 2D models. 3D models, however, are superior for characterizing the isotropic nature of OLED light. The researchers therefore opted to add 3D simulations of OLEDS into the mix. As depicted by their results, strong field intensity exists in the cross-sectional xy-plane atthe fat interface, confirming that strong SPP excitation occurs inthe fat structure. The findings also Feiterate that coupling to SPP is negligible for the nanograting structure,8 30 field distribution simulations of a dipole emission in an OLED model with o flat (top) and nanogratng (vttom) interface. Images by Leiming Wang, Jun ‘Amano, and Po-Chich Hung and token from their COMSOI Conference 2015 Eoston nage (hites/wwv.comsol com /naner/Sownload)/ 257781 /wona apet oat) Optimizing a Nanograting Cathode Structure with a Parametric Study Buldng oftheir ntl research studies, the tam addtinaly sought toanaiyze the influence of size, shape, and ranoqrating period onthe plasmon loss reduction. Ths translated into running parmeti sties to optimize the nanograting cathe structure and see how strctural Changes affect plasmon los. ere, wel focus on one such study, which foks atthe grating structure's effect on the overall plasmon reduction elt pasmon os $0 welengthsercng 09 os oa 02 o1 o4 10 20 90 40 50 60 70 60 90 100 110 120 10 20 30 40 $0 60 70 a0 90 100 110 120 io) infor) Left: The average relative plasmon loss (the plasmon loss with the gating relative to the plasmon loss with the flat surface as a function of two ferent grating geometrical parameters: pitch height on the xaxls) and pitch duty ratio (on the y-oxs). Here, te ptch duty ratios the quotient ofthe grating post width and the gating period, Right: Ploting the corresponding standard deviation ofthe wavelength averaging. Images by Liming Wang, Jun ‘Amano, and Po-Chieh Hung and taken from their COMSOL Conference 2015 Boston presentation {htto:Jweww.comsol.com/peper/download/257291 /wang presentation pdfThe studies show that smaller pitch duty ratios lead to larger reductions in plasmon loss (represented by the darker colors inthe figure above on the left). The dark colors in the rignt igure represent parameter combinations witha small wavelength variation. Therefore, the encircled ‘common darker cells in the bottom-right comers of tne figures indicate the optimal structure configuration for both reducing plasmon loss and having broacband performance. Infact. the circled cell generates an approximate 50% plasmon loss reduction over a broadband emission. This, serves as adetional proof that an optimized nanograting cathode structure can improve OLED efficiency. There's a Bright Future Ahead for OLED Devices ‘The simulation studies highlighted here mark a pivotal point in OLED research, withthe mode cistribution and plasmon coupling of OLEDs visualize in real space. The research findings provide opportunities for further innovative research into the design and optimization of the technology. As the efficiency of OLEDS continues to improve, thelr widespread commercial use will increase. Lea n More About Simulating Lighting Technology in COMSOL Multiphysics® + Read the paper: ‘Simulating Plasmon Effect in Nanostructured OLED Cathode Using COMSOL Multiphysics {http wan comsolcom /oanar/simulating.plasmon-effects-in-nano-structured-oled-cathodes-using-comsol-multiph-27012" + Weve previously blogged about the role of simulation in optimizing light sources. Take a look at some examples: © Calculating the Emission Spectra from Common Light Sources (http./wwv.comsol.com/blogs/calculating-the-emisslon-spectra: from-common light-sources/ © Simulating a Transparent Light Pipe to Optimize Transmittance (hitp//www.comsol.com/blogs/simulating-2-transparentsight-pipe- o-optimize-tranemittance © App: Measuring the Diffraction Efficiency of a Wire Grating (htta//werw.comsol com/blogs/anp-measuring-the-difraction- ‘efficiency-of-a-wire-erating/)