Fabrication of patterned electroluminescent polymers that emit in geometries with feature sizes into the submicron range

This letter describes the fabrication of structured polymer light-emitting devices (LEDs) that produce patterns of light with feature sizes as small as similar to 0.8 mu m. Solvent-assisted micromolding of a film of a precursor to poly(p-phenylene vinylene) (PPV), produces variations in its thickness that replicate the relief on the mold. Thermal conversion of this precursor produces a film of PPV with the sine surface relief. LEDs formed with the structured PPV emit preferentially in the thin regions of the film. Devices fabricated in this manner may be important for constructing plastic visual displays, and could eventually lead to new subwavelength sources of light suitable for applications in near field optics. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics.