Improved efficiency in fluorescent blue organic light emitting diode with a carrier confining structure

A blue organic light emitting device (OLED) with improved efficiency and good color purity is reported. The highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) level of the hole transport layer (HTL) and that of the emissive layer (EML) differs by 0.3 eV. This energy level mismatch confines the carriers at the HTL/EML interface. Conventional devices have only one HTL/EML interface, with a current efficiency of 2.9 cd/A. Without adding a separate hole blocking layer, incorporating multi-layers of the same HTL and EML increases this efficiency to 5.8 cd/A, with only a small increase in operating voltage yielding increased power efficiency also. But, there are an optimum number of layers, beyond which efficiency loss results. Also, including the multilayer structure simultaneously improves the blue color co-ordinates. To gain insight into the role of multilayer structures in modifying charge transport and recombination zone a simulator was developed. The simulated results could qualitatively explain the experimental observations.     

Surface plasmon enhanced light-emitting diode

A method for enhancing the emission properties of light-emitting diodes, by coupling to surface plasmons, is analyzed both theoretically and experimentally. The analyzed structure consists of a semiconductor emitter layer thinner than λ/2 sandwiched between two metal films. If a periodic pattern is defined in the top semitransparent metal layer by lithography, it is possible to efficiently couple out the light emitted from the semiconductor and to simultaneously enhance the spontaneous emission rate. For the analyzed designs, we theoretically estimate extraction efficiencies as high as 37% and Purcell factors of up to 4.5. We have experimentally measured photoluminescence intensities of up to 46 times higher in fabricated structures compared to unprocessed wafers. The increased light emission is due to an increase in the efficiency and an increase in the pumping intensity resulting from trapping of pump photons within the microcavity     

Silicon compatible organic light emitting diode

As an effort toward a goal of monolithic optoelectronics for silicon (Si) chip-to-chip connections, we have fabricated organic light emitting diodes (LED's) using either heavily N-doped silicon (Si) as a cathode or P-doped Si as an anode. A thin silicon dioxide (SiO₂ ) layer, thermally grown on Si before deposition of a polymer or a molecular organic layer, enhances the electron injection into the semiconducting emissive layer. Without the thin oxide layer, no light was observed from LED's made from either (2-methoxy, 5-(2'-ethyl-hexoxy)-1, 4-phenylene vinylene) (MEH-PPV) or 8-hydroxyquinoline aluminum (Alq). With the SiO₂ layer,the internal quantum efficiencies as high as 0.02% and 0.5% have been observed for MEH-PPV and Alq, respectively, and the turn-on voltages were as low as 2.5 V and 8 V, again for MEH-PPV and Alq, respectively. From the LED response time measurement, we identified RC constant and the recombination time of transport-related traps as the speed limiting factors     

Efficient blue fluorescence tandem organic light emitting device with a novel intermediate connector

A novel intermediate connector (IC) was formed which was composed of aluminum (Al, 3 nm)/1,4,5,8,9,11- hexaazatriphenylene-hexacarbonitrile (HAT-CN). The 3-nm-thick Al in the IC is certified to efficiently generate intrinsic charge carriers, and the HAT-CN is proved to work as the holes injection layer (HIL) for the corresponding electroluminescent (EL) unit simultaneously. This simply IC comprehensively takes advantage of the features of the HAT-CN so as to stack two single EL units without introducing extra material. In addition to a significant enhancement in luminance and current efficiency, a current efficiency (CE) of 10.2 cd/A and a luminance of 2 042 cd/m2 under the current density 20 mA/cm2 of this tandem organic light emitting device (TOLED) are yielded, which are notably almost the sum of that of the two single-unit devices.     

Double co-host emitter based top emitting white organic light emitting diodes with enhanced brightness and efficiency

quninolinato)-4-phenylphenolate alu-minium (BAlq) as HTL which is responsible for blue light emission is found to have best characteristics when compared to other simulated devices. It has a maximum luminance of 10 000 cd/m2 and current efficiency of 15.25 cd/A, respectively, and CIE coordinates are at (0.329, 0.319). The device is found to be compatible to be used in solid state lighting applications because of the low driving voltage of the device.     

Efficient blue emitters based on 1,3,5-triazine for nondoped organic light emitting diode applications

Two novel efficient blue emitters (TTT-1, TTT-2) containing 1,3,5-triazine, thiophene and triphenylamine have been designed and synthesized. Organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) using these new triazine derivatives as emissive layers, ITO/TAPC (60 nm)/TTT-1 (Device A) or TTT-2 (Device B) (40 nm)/TPBi (60 nm)/LiF (1 nm)/Al (100 nm), were fabricated and tested. The OLEDs exhibited good performances with low turn-on voltage of 3 V, maximum luminance of ca. 8990 cd/m² for TTT-1 and 15,980 cd/m² for TTT-2, and maximum luminance efficiency of 4.7 cd/A for TTT-1 and 4.0 cd/A for TTT-2, respectively.     

Efficiency enhancement of organic light emitting diode via surface energy transfer between exciton and surface plasmon

Organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) with surface plasmon (SP) enhanced emission have been fabricated. Gold nanoclusters (GNCs) deposited using thermal evaporation technique has been used for localization of surface plasmons. Size of GNCs and distance of GNCs from the emissive layer have been optimized using steady state and time resolved photoluminescence (PL) results. 3.2 Times enhancement in PL intensity and 2.8 times enhancement in electroluminescence intensity of OLED have been obtained when GNCs of size 9.3 nm has been introduced at a distance of 5 nm from emissive layer. Distance dependence of energy transfer efficiency between exciton and SPs was found to be of 1/R⁴ type, which is typically the dependence for dipole-surface energy transfer.     

Effect of various microlens parameters on enhancement of light outcoupling efficiency of organic light emitting diode

Since organic light emitting diode (OLED) is a multilayer device where each layer has different refractive index, total internal reflection (TIR) plays an important role in limiting the efficiency of an OLED. Due to the presence of TIR, a major portion of light is trapped within the device in various wave guiding modes. Of the total light trapped in an OLED, we address only the part that is lost due to wave guiding mode arising from refractive index mismatch at the glass-air interface. Microlens array, to improve luminance, is a method that can be externally applied to the OLEDs without altering its electrical characteristics and is easy to use. Microlens arrays ranging from 10 to 40 μm have been fabricated using an organic elastomeric material polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) by mold transfer technique. Maximum improvement of 25% in outcoupling efficiency for blue OLED is reported upon using the microlens array with diameter 10 μm. For a given diameter of microlens, out-coupling efficiency of OLED increases as height to diameter (H/D) ratio of microlens array approaches 0.5 (perfect hemisphere). It is also observed that outcoupling efficiency increases with the diameter of microlens for a given H/D ratio. The best luminescence improvement was observed for blue OLED, which can be explained by the higher refractive index of PDMS at lower wavelengths.     

Guided electromagnetic waves in organic light emitting diode structures

A detailed analysis of the optical waveguide modes in organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) is presented. The modes are compared with respect to their electric field profile, attenuation coefficient and optical confinement factor. The first transversal electric (TE) mode is best suited for an optimized energy transfer from emitting dipoles. The transversal magnetic (TM) modes are characterized by a large plasmon character with high absorption. The propagation constants of distinct modes have been measured in test devices by grating coupling.     

Surface plasmon–polariton mediated emission of light from top-emitting organic light-emitting diode type structures

Surface plasmon–polariton (SPP) modes may act as significant loss channels in organic light-emitting diode devices. We present experimental data illustrating that by the introduction of an appropriately scaled microstructure into a device, some of this lost power may be recovered as light. It is shown that in order to maximize this SPP-mediated light emission in a top-emitting light-emitting diode (TOLED) the plasmon modes associated with the two metal surfaces of the cathode must be coupled together. Data from grating-coupled and index-coupled SPP schemes are presented, and we show that photoluminescence emission from a structure containing a microstructured thin metal film that supports coupled SPPs is at least 50 times more effective than a similar planar structure. Experimental data is also presented from a structure containing a thin metal film whose profile contains a wavelength scale microstructure on a single interface. These data suggest that such a device geometry has the potential to increase the efficiency of top-emitting organic light-emitting devices.     

Simple-structured efficient white organic light emitting diode via solution process

High-efficiency white emission is crucial to the design of energy-saving display and lighting panels, whereas solution-process feasibility is highly desirable for large area-size and cost-effective roll-to-roll manufacturing. In this study, we demonstrate highly-efficient, bright and chromaticity stable white organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) with solution-processed single emissive layer. The resultant best white OLED shows excellent electroluminescence performance with forward-viewing external quantum efficiency, current efficiency and power efficiency of 22.7%, 48.8 cd A^− 1 and 27.8 lm W^− 1 at 100 cd m^− 2, respectively, with a maximum luminance of 19,590 cd m^− 2. Furthermore, we also observed an increment of 112% in the power efficiency, 86.9% in the current efficiency and a decrement of 39.2% in the external quantum efficiency at 100 cd m^− 2 as the doping concentration of blue dye was increased from 10 wt% to 25 wt% in the devices. The better efficiency performance may be attributed to the effective exciton-confining device architecture and low-energy barrier for electrons to inject from the hole-blocking electron-transport layer to the host layer.     

High efficiency warm white phosphorescent organic light emitting devices based on blue light emission from a bipolar mixed-host

In this study, we demonstrate a high-efficiency and low turn-on voltage warm white phosphorescent organic light emitting devices (PH-WOLEDs) based on a blue mixed-host emission layer (EML) and an orange ultrathin layer. The device has a simple structure and would simplify the fabrication process and reduce fabrication costs. The concept is based on the design a high-efficiency blue mixed-host EML, using an electron-transport material, 4,6-Bis(3,5-di(pyridin-4-yl) phenyl)-2-(3-(pyridin-3-yl) phenyl) pyrimidine (B4PYMPM) to enhance the carrier balance ability of the hole-transport material 1,3-Bis(carbazol-9-yl) benzene (MCP) which operates as the mixed-host and when the MCP: B4PYMPM ratio in the mixed-film was 4:1 got better effects. Based on the blue EML, we realized WOLEDs, characterized by a peak power efficiency of 71.3 lm/W at 3.1 V and a low turn-on voltage of 2.65 V. The mixed-host blue EML exhibited a much higher performance compared to the MCP host. Stable warm white light emission with Commission International de L'Eclairage (CIE) coordinates from (0.37, 0.45) to (0.38, 0.47) for a luminance value ranging from 1000 to 10,000 cd/m² was obtained.     

GaN基蓝光LED的多量子阱结构优化

基于量子阱结构中载流子遂穿势垒原理,使用APSYS软件模拟不同条件下具有不同垒高、垒宽及阱宽的发光二极管（LED）的I-V特性、光强和内量子效率（IQE）的变化,发现自发发射光谱存在红移现象。通过与传统LED的多量子阱（MQW）参数比较发现,当阱宽为2 nm、垒宽为4 nm、垒中In含量为0.08和驱动电流为20mA时...     

High-brightness blue organic light emitting diodes with different types of guest-host systems

We demonstrate high-brightness blue organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) using two types of guest-host systems. A series of blue OLEDs were fabricated using three organic emitters of dibenz anthracene (perylene), di(4-fluorophenyl) amino-di (styryl) biphenyl (DSB) and 4,4''-bis[2-(9-ethyl-3-carbazolyl)vinyl]biphenyl (BCzVBi) doped into two hosting materials of 4,4''-bis(9-carbazolyl) biphenyl (CBP) and 2-(4-biphenylyl)-5(4-tert-butyl-phenyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole (PBD) as blue emitting layers, respectively. We achieve three kinds of devices with colors of deep-blue, pure-blue and sky-blue with the Commission Internationale de L''Eclairage (CIE) coordinates of (0.16, 0.10), (0.15, 0.15) and (0.17, 0.24), respectively, by employing PBD as host material. In addition, we present a microcavity device using the PBD guest-host system and achieve high-purity blue devices with narrowed spectrum.     

Modification effect of hole injection layer on efficiency performance of wet-processed blue organic light emitting diodes

We examined the performance of solution-processed organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) by modifying the hole injection layer (HIL), poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT: PSS). Atomic force microscopy (AFM) showed morphological changes with surface roughness (R_RMS) of 1.47, 1.73, and 1.37 nm for pristine PEDOT: PSS, PEDOT: PSS modified with a 40 v% deionized water and with a 30 v% acetone, respectively. The surface hydrophobicity of the acetone modified PEDOT:PSS HIL layer was decreased by 34% as comparing with the water modified counterpart. Electrical conductivity was increased to two orders of magnitude for the water and acetone modified PEDOT:PSS as compared to pristine. We observed a low refractive index and high transmittance for the modified HILs. We fabricated and explored electroluminescent properties of bis[2-(4,6-difluorophenyl)pyridinato-C2,N](picolinato)iridium(III) (FIrpic) based sky blue device by utilizing HIL with and without modification. The changes in electrical conductivity, surface roughness, refractive index, and transmittance of the modified HILs strongly influenced the performance of devices. By utilizing a 30% acetone modified HIL, the power efficiency was increased from 14.2 to 24.2 lm/W, an increment of 70% and the EQE from 8.5 to 13.1% at 100 cd/m², an increment of 54%. The maximum luminance also increased from 11,780 to 18,190 cd/m². The findings revealed herein would be helpful in designing and fabricating high efficiency solution processed OLEDs.     

The operating voltage behavior of green fluorescent organic light emitting diode with blue common layer structure during laser imaging process

The blue common layer (BCL) approach has become very useful methodology to reduce the process steps which may increase the production yield of active matrix organic light emitting diode (AMOLED) fabrication. From this approach, we can reduce one step (from 5 to 4) for fine metal masking (FMM) method as a current mass-production technology to form a common thick-microcavity structure. Moreover, we can reduce the patterning steps from 5 to 2 if we use a laser induced thermal imaging (LITI) technology for the same structure. Nevertheless, we still prefer to apply the FMM technology for the mass production because there are lots of problematic issues on LITI process such as an operating voltage increase (by 0.5–1.0 V), efficiency drop (by ∼10%), shorter lifetime, etc. Here, we report about the fundamental causes of these problems during LITI processes.     

The road to high efficiency organic light emitting devices

Advances leading to very high efficiency organic light emitting devices for use in flat panel displays and solid state illumination are described. The topics addressed in the Special Issue on High Efficiency Organic Light Emitting Devices are introduced.     

High efficiency and non-color-changing orange organic light emitting diodes with red and green emitting layers

We report a high performance orange organic light-emitting diode (OLED) where red and green phosphorescent dyes are doped in an exciplex forming co-host as separate red and green emitting layers (EMLs). The OLED shows a maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 22.8%, a low roll-off of efficiency with an EQE of 19.6% at 10,000 cd/m², and good orange color with a CIE coordinate of (0.442, 0.529) and no color change from 1000 to 10,000 cd/m². The exciplex forming co-host system distributes the recombination zone all over the EMLs and reduces the triplet exciton quenching processes.     

Efficient blue emitting organic light emitting diodes based on fluorescent solution processable cyclic phosphazenes

Solution processable blue fluorescent dendrimers based on cyclic phosphazene (CP) cores incorporating amino-pyrene moieties have been prepared and used as emissive layers in organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs). These dendrimers have high glass transition temperatures, are monodisperse, have high purity via common chromatographic techniques, and form defect-free amorphous films via spin/dip coating. The solution processable blue light emitting OLEDs reach current efficiencies of 3.9 cd/A at brightness levels near 1000 cd/m². Depending on the molecular bridge used to attach the fluorescent dendron to the inorganic core, the emission wavelength changes from 470 to 545 nm, corresponding to blue and green light respectively. Via dilution experiments we show that this shift in emission wavelength is likely associated with molecular stacking of the amino-pyrene units.     

High quantum efficiency in blue phosphorescent organic light emitting diodes using ortho-substituted high triplet energy host materials

A high triplet energy material derived from carbazole and ortho terphenyl, 3,3′′-di(9H-carbazole-9-yl)-1,1′:2′,1′′-terphenyl (33DCTP), was synthesized as the host material for blue phosphorescent organic light-emitting diodes (PHOLEDs). The 33DCTP host showed high glass transition temperature of 110 °C, high triplet energy of 2.77 eV, the highest occupied molecular orbital of ?6.12 eV and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital of ?2.52 eV. High efficiency blue PHOLEDs were developed using the 33DCTP host and bis((3,5-difluorophenyl)pyridine) iridium picolinate dopant material, and high quantum efficiency of 23.7% was achieved with a color coordinate of (0.14, 0.28).