Abstract
A large part of the emission energy of electrically generated excitons transfers to the surface plasmons
that are propagating at the cathode surface of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), reducing external
quantum efficiency. We describe the effect of the introduction of nanostructures into cathode surfaces on
the improvement of the light extraction efficiency in OLEDs. Organic thin-film solar cells (OSCs) have
similar structures to OLEDs. Thus, considering reciprocity, similar effect owing to the introduction of
nanostructures can be expected. Two types of OSCs are described. In one OSC, nanostructure is
introduced into the back reflector to improve the conversion efficiency. In the other OSC, a thin silver
film with nanoholes replaces the indium tin oxide transparent electrode, which is usually used in OSCs.
