While total internal reflection (TIR) lays the foundation for many important applications, foremost fibre optics that revolutionised information technologies, it is undesirable in some other applications such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs), which are a backbone for energy-efficient light sources. In the case of LEDs, TIR prevents photons from escaping the constituent high-index materials. Advances in material science have led to good efficiencies in generating photons from electron–hole pairs, making light extraction the bottleneck of the overall efficiency of LEDs. In recent years, the extraction efficiency has been improved, using nanostructures at the semiconductor/air interface that outcouple trapped photons to the outside continuum. However, the design of geometrical features for light extraction with sizes comparable to or smaller than the optical wavelength always requires sophisticated and time-consuming fabrication, which causes a gap between lab demonstration and industrial-level applications. Inspired by lightning bugs, we propose and realise a disordered metasurface for light extraction throughout the visible spectrum, achieved with single-step fabrication. By applying such a cost-effective light extraction layer, we improve the external quantum efficiency by a factor of 1.65 for commercialised GaN LEDs, demonstrating a substantial potential for global energy-saving and sustainability.

虽然全内反射 (TIR) 为许多重要应用奠定了基础，最重要的是光纤，它彻底改变了信息技术，但它在其他一些应用中并不受欢迎，例如作为节能光源的支柱的发光二极管 (LED) . 在 LED 的情况下，TIR 可防止光子从构成的高指数材料中逸出。材料科学的进步导致从电子-空穴对产生光子的效率很高，使光提取成为 LED 整体效率的瓶颈。近年来，提取效率得到提高，在半导体/空气界面使用纳米结构，将捕获的光子耦合到外部连续体。然而，尺寸与光波长相当或小于光波长的光提取几何特征的设计总是需要复杂且耗时的制造，这导致实验室演示和工业级应用之间存在差距。受闪电虫的启发，我们提出并实现了一个无序的超表面，用于整个可见光谱的光提取，通过单步制造实现。通过应用这种具有成本效益的光提取层，我们将商业化 GaN LED 的外部量子效率提高了 1.65 倍，展示了全球节能和可持续发展的巨大潜力。我们提出并实现了一个无序的超表面，用于整个可见光谱的光提取，通过单步制造实现。通过应用这种具有成本效益的光提取层，我们将商业化 GaN LED 的外部量子效率提高了 1.65 倍，展示了全球节能和可持续发展的巨大潜力。我们提出并实现了一个无序的超表面，用于整个可见光谱的光提取，通过单步制造实现。通过应用这种具有成本效益的光提取层，我们将商业化 GaN LED 的外部量子效率提高了 1.65 倍，展示了全球节能和可持续发展的巨大潜力。