Abstract: A 1.8-times improved light extraction efficiency (LEE) is reported under DC test conditions for truncated cone AlGaN DUV micropixel LEDs when the pixel size was reduced from 90 to 5 µm. This is shown to be a direct consequence of the absorption of the TM-polarized photons travelling in a direction parallel to the device epitaxial layers. Presently disclosed cathodoluminescence measurements show the lateral absorption length for 275 nm DUV photons to be 15 µm, which is ~1000 times shorter than that for waveguiding in the A0.65Ga0.35N cladding layers. Results show the re-absorption of this laterally travelling emission by the multiple quantum wells and the p-contact GaN layer to be a key factor limiting the LEE. Hence, for DUV emitters, scaling down to sub-20 µm device dimensions is critical for maximizing LEE. Presently disclosed sub-20 µm AIGaN-based LEDs do not show pronounced edge recombination effects.