Plasmonic light emitting diode

1. A light emitting diode, comprising:

a light emission structure having a contact; and

a plasmonic layer, including a plasmonic metal and a dielectric layer with a smooth interface therebetween, in contact with a contact of a quantum well structure and configured to excite surface plasmons in a waveguide mode using light generated by the light emission structure to enhance power input to the light emission structure.

2. The light emitting diode as recited in claim 1 , wherein the light emission structure includes a square with a side dimension of less than about 10 microns.

3. The light emitting diode as recited in claim 1 , wherein the plasmonic metal reduces light loss from the light emitting diode through reflection.

4. The light emitting diode as recited in claim 1 , wherein the plasmonic metal enhances emission intensity by a factor of about 2 over a same device without the plasmonic metal.

5. The light emitting diode as recited in claim 1 , wherein the plasmonic layer is configured to excite surface plasmons in a waveguide mode that is independent of wavelength generated by the light emission structure.

6. The light emitting diode as recited in claim 1 , wherein the dielectric layer includes aluminum oxide.

7. The light emitting diode as recited in claim 1 , wherein the light emission structure includes alternating layers of III-V materials.

8. The light emitting diode as recited in claim 7 , wherein the alternating layers include GaAs and AlGaAs materials.

9. A light emitting diode, comprising:

a substrate;

a light emission structure mounted on the substrate to generate light using optical pumping; and

a plasmonic layer, including a plasmonic metal and a dielectric layer with a smooth interface therebetween, the plasmonic layer located between the light emission structure and the substrate, and configured to excite surface plasmons in a waveguide mode.

10. The light emitting diode as recited in claim 9 , wherein the light emission structure includes a square with a side dimension of less than about 10 microns.

11. The light emitting diode as recited in claim 9 , wherein alternating layers include GaAs and AlGaAs materials.

12. The light emitting diode as recited in claim 9 , wherein the plasmonic metal reduces light loss from the light emitting diode through reflection.

13. The light emitting diode as recited in claim 9 , wherein the plasmonic metal enhances emission intensity by a factor of about 2 over a same device without the plasmonic metal.

14. The light emitting diode as recited in claim 9 , wherein the plasmonic layer is configured to excite surface plasmons in a waveguide mode that is independent of wavelength generated by the light emission structure.

15. The light emitting diode as recited in claim 9 , wherein the dielectric layer includes aluminum oxide.

16. A method for fabricating a light emitting diode, comprising:

forming a light emission structure on a contact; and

depositing a plasmonic layer, including a plasmonic metal and a dielectric layer, on the contact of the light emission structure, the plasmonic metal being configured to excite surface plasmons in a waveguide mode using light generated by the light emission structure to enhance power input to the light emission structure.

17. The method as recited in claim 16 , wherein the light emission structure includes a side dimension of less than about 10 microns.

18. The method as recited in claim 16 , further comprising reducing light loss from the light emitting diode using the plasmonic metal to reflect light.

19. The method as recited in claim 16 , wherein the plasmonic layer enhances emission intensity by a factor of about 2 over a same device without the plasmonic layer.

20. The method as recited in claim 16 , wherein the plasmonic metal is selected from the group consisting of Au, Cu, Ag and Al.