Linearly polarized light emission in organic light-emitting devices with an elliptical nanopillar array meta-electrode

Conventional polarized organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs) equipped with polarizers have proven extensive prospects in optoelectronic applications; however, they suffer from the power loss, extra cost, and complex optical system incorporation. Here, polarizer-free OLEDs with linearly polarized light emission have been proposed with a bifunctional meta-electrode. The bifunctional meta-electrode was constructed with an elliptical nanopillar array on the ITO anode in OLEDs, enabling simultaneous polarization control and light extraction improvement. By modifying the elliptical lattice, a tunable electroluminescent (EL) polarization extinction ratio has been realized. OLEDs with the proposed meta-electrode (meta-OLEDs) further demonstrated obvious improvements in luminance owing to the effective photon extraction from the trapped lossy modes. The meta-OLEDs with customizable polarization and desired EL performance pave the way for advanced applications in 3D imaging, optical communications, and other ultracompact optoelectronic systems.