Optoelectronic devices are playing a decisive role in nowadays societal needs in two ways: as a means to produce energy in a sustainable way (photovoltaic devices) and minimizing the energetic cost of producing light (LEDs). In either of these two complementary routes, converting electromagnetic radiation into electrical current or vice versa, the interaction of light and matter is at the heart of the process and thus maximizing it is central to design highly efficient devices.

When optimizing these systems one must consider the different processes involved in the conversion of light into current: a proper exit/entrance path of light from/to the device, optimized charge carrier transport and tailoring the optical environment of the active layer. While the former two aspects comprise the focus of many studies, the last point is commonly overlooked in the design of optoelectronic devices. Tailoring the optical environment of the active layer is a critical point in the design of any device involving the interaction of light and matter, as it strongly determines its emission and absorption properties. [[1]] Further it is becoming critical in the development of a new generation of solution processed materials from quantum dots (QD) to hybrid organic-inorganic lead-halide perovskites (HOIP) for which devices, comprising thin active layers, are rapidly approaching state of the art performances. Thus maximizing light-matter interaction within the final device is a must in order to make the most out of the active layer.

In this work we focus on the relevance of the optical design of optoelectronic devices in order to optimize their efficiency through a proper engineering of the optical environment of the active layer. From numerical simulations employing the Transfer Matrix Method and 3D Finite-Difference in the Time Domain we show [[2]] how carefully tailoring such environment, introducing small variations in the thickness of the layers of the final device, has profound implications on the way light is absorbed or emitted from real world devices. [[3],[4]]

[1] Novotny, L.; Hecht, B. Principles of Nano-Optics; Cambridge University Press, 2006.

[2] Jiménez-Solano, Galisteo-López, J.F, Míguez, H. Submitted (2018)

[3] Bernechea, M.; Miller, N. C.; Xercavins, G.; So, D.; Stavrinadis, A.; Konstantatos, G. Nat. Photonics 2016, 10, 521-526.

[4] Xiao, Z; Kerner, R. A.; Zhao, L.; Tran, N. L.; Lee, K. M.; Hoh, T-W.; Scholes, G. D.; Rand, B. P. Nat. Photonics 2017, 11, 108-116.