Optical properties of a light-emitting polymer directly patterned by soft lithography

We present the optical properties of a directly patterned light-emitting polymer. The patterned poly(2-methoxy-5-(3('),7(')-dimethyloctyloxy)-paraphenylenevinylene film is fabricated using hot embossing lithography. The effect of the embossed microstructure on the light emitted from the polymer is examined by measuring the angle-dependent photoluminescence and its photonic band structure. The imposed grating modifies the emitted light by Bragg scattering into free space light that would otherwise be trapped as waveguide modes. This simple patterning technique may find application in improving the performance of light-emitting polymer devices. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.