Wavelength-tunable and white-light emission from polymer-converted micropixellated InGaN ultraviolet light-emitting diodes

We report the use of light-emitting conjugated polymer materials to wavelength-convert the emission from a two-dimensional array of micropixellated InGaN light-emitting diodes (LEDs). We demonstrate hybrid organic/inorganic light-emitting devices that can operate across the entire visible spectrum, and we also fabricate white-emitting versions of these devices by employing single layers of carefully adjusted polymer blends in which cascade non-radiative energy transfer occurs between the constituent materials. Additional colours may be easily obtained by tuning the composition of the polymer blends. Our work demonstrates that the combination of conjugated polymers and UV micro-LED arrays provides an attractive approach to developing microscale wavelength-tunable light sources and may provide a route to low-cost full-colour microdisplays and other instrumentation devices. © 2006 IOP Publishing Ltd.