Highly efficient fluorescent blue materials and their applications for top‐emission OLEDs

We developed new fluorescent blue dopants (BDs) for achieving high‐efficient blue organic light‐emitting diode. A new BD showed both high photoluminescent quantum yield >0.9 and highly horizontal orientation (S′ > 0.9) in doped film with keeping a chemical stability by introducing suitable substituents. We developed hole transporting materials and optimized the combination of hole transporting layers to decrease a carrier accumulation at the interface between electron blocking layer and emission layer. We found that the external quantum efficiency dependency from low to high current density was turned flat by promoting hole injection into emission layer. The top‐emission organic light‐emitting diode using the new BD and the optimized device architecture exhibited high efficiency of L/J/CIEy around 200 at CIEy = 0.043.     

Highly efficient deep‐blue fluorescent dopant for achieving low‐power OLED display satisfying BT.2020 chromaticity

In this work, novel blue‐fluorescent dopants with a heteroaromatic ring skeleton instead of the conventional pyrene skeleton were investigated. Bottom‐emission organic light‐emitting diodes (OLEDs) fabricated using the novel blue‐fluorescent dopants in light‐emitting layers achieved better deep‐blue chromaticity than OLEDs based on a conventional pyrene‐based dopant, while maintaining both high external quantum efficiency (EQE) and comparable reliability. The attainment of deep‐blue chromaticity without losing high EQE was ascribed to the improvement of the efficiency of energy transfer from the host to the dopant. Furthermore, it was estimated that using this novel dopant in a top‐emission OLED panel that satisfies BT.2020 chromaticity enables the power consumption of the whole panel to be 24% lower than that of the panel with a conventional dopant.     

Molecular design for stabilizing a blue phase III and electro‐optical switching in the blue phase

Abstract— The molecular design of a liquid crystal to stabilize a blue phase III (BPIII) is reviewed, and the electro‐optical switching with a response time on the order of 10^?2 sec for BPIII exhibited by a novel chiral liquid crystal is reported. Binaphthyl derivatives and T‐shaped compounds are presented, and the structure‐property correlations of the chiral compounds are discussed. Two origins of the twisting power of the compounds, i.e., their inherent molecular chirality and the chirality‐induced twist conformation, play an important role in the appearance of the BPIII. Furthermore, BPIII was also induced in some binary mixtures of a host nematic liquid‐crystal possessing molecular biaxiality and a conventional chiral compound. The electro‐optical switching in the BPIII is attributed to an electric‐field‐induced phase transition between the BPIII and nematic (N) phases. BPIII is on the microscopically twisted nematic order, but is macroscopically isotropic. Therefore, the present technology can offer a pronounced black state in the BPIII without surface treatment and a homogeneous bright state in the induced N phase.     

Dimensioning a full color LED microdisplay for augmented reality headset in a very bright environment

This paper focuses on the dimensioning of a very bright full color 10 μm‐pitch light‐emitting device (LED) microdisplay for avionics application. Starting from the specifications of head‐mounted display to be used in an augmented reality optical system, a theoretical approach is proposed that enables predicting the specifications of the main technology building blocks entering into the microdisplay manufacturing process flow. By taking into account various material and technological parameters, kept as realistic as possible, it is possible to assess the feasibility of a very bright LED microdisplay (1 Mcd/m² full white) and to point out the main limitations. The theoretical specifications are then compared with the technical results obtained so far in the framework of the H2020 Clean Sky “HILICO” project. It shows that 350 000 cd/m² of white emission may be accessible with the present gallium nitride (GaN)‐micro‐LED technology provided a color conversion solution with stable external quantum efficiency of 30% is available. Beyond such level of luminance, the inherent limitations of driving circuit (4 V, 15 μA per pixel) commands working with materials enabling higher external quantum efficiency (EQE). In particular, 10‐μm‐pitch micro‐LEDs with electroluminescence EQE of 15% and color conversion EQE approaching 60% are needed, opening the way to future challenging material and technology research developments.     

High‐efficiency quantum dot light‐emitting diodes with blue cadmium‐free quantum dots

We report outstanding electroluminescence properties of high‐efficiency blue cadmium‐free quantum dot light‐emitting diodes (QD‐LED). External quantum efficiency (EQE) of 14.7% was achieved for QD‐LED emitting at 428 nm. Furthermore, we developed high‐efficiency and narrow wavelength emission zinc selenide (ZnSe) nanocrystals emitting at 445 nm and achieved QD‐LED with an EQE of 10.7%. These new QDs have great potential to be used in next‐generation QD‐LED display with wide color gamut.     

Effect of electron transport layer engineering based on blue phosphorescent organic light-emitting diodes

A main requirement for achieving high efficiency in organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) is that all charges and electrically generated excitons should be employed for emission. We fabricated blue phosphorescent OLEDs with four types electron transporting layers, which were doped with lithium quinolate (Liq) from 0% to 10%. A series of blue devices consisted of indium tin oxide (ITO, 180 nm)/4,4-bis[N-(naphthyl)-N-phenyl-amino]biphenyl (NPB, 50 nm)/N,N′-dicarbazolyl-3,5-benzene (mCP, 10 nm)/iridium(III)bis[(4,6-di-fluoropheny)-pyridinato-N,C²] picolinate (FIrpic) doped in mCP (8%, 30 nm)/1,3,5-tris(N-phenylbenzimidazole-2-yl)benzene (TPBi, 20 nm)/TPBi mixed with Liq (20 nm)/Liq (2 nm)/aluminum (Al, 100 nm). The blue OLED doped with 5% Liq, which demonstrated a maximum luminous efficiency and external quantum efficiency of 17.64 cd/A and 8.78%, respectively, were found to be superior to the other blue devices.     

Highly efficient deep‐blue organic light‐emitting devices

Abstract— A highly efficient deep‐blue organic light‐emitting device (OLED) incorporating a novel composite hole‐transport layer (c‐HTL) and an emitter based on the new non‐symmetrical mono(styryl)amine fluorescent dopant in the stable host MADN, which achieved a luminance efficiency of 5.4 cd/A with a Commission Internationale d'Eclairage (CIEx,y) of (0.14, 0.13) and an external quantum efficiency of 5.1% at 20 mA/cm² and 6.8 V, is reported. The increased device efficiency is attributed to an improved balance between hole and electron currents in the recombination zone.     

Efficiency enhancement of submicron-size light-emitting diodes by triple dielectric layers

Micro-LED (light-emitting diode) is an emerging technology that produces superiorly bright, efficient, and high-resolution display. However, efficiency drop at small chip sizes is one of the major hurdles for cost-effectiveness and ultra-compact form factor. We demonstrate highly efficient submicron-scale nanorod LEDs (nLEDs) passivated by the triple dielectric layers. The diameter, length, and wavelength at a peak external quantum efficiency (EQE) of nLEDs are 580 nm, 5 μm, and 460 nm, respectively. We report a peak EQE of 22.2 ± 0.3% with HfO₂-based triple dielectric layer. We also explore the relation of indium fluctuation in multi-quantum wells (MQWs) to sidewall effect of micro-LEDs. We show that higher indium contents in MQWs successfully reduce non-radiative recombination on sidewall of InGaN blue nLEDs.     

Correlation between host material compositions and performances in organic white-light-emitting diodes with blue/orange/blue emitting stacked structure

Quantum efficiency, driving voltage, color stability and recombination zone of organic white-light-emitting diodes (OWLEDs) with blue/orange/blue stacked emitting structure were correlated with host structure of emitting layer. A mixed host structure of 4,4′,4″-tris(N-carbazolyl)triphenylamine (TCTA) and 1,3,5-tris(N-phenylbenzimidazole-2-yl)benzene (TPBI) was used in orange emitting layer and host composition was critical to device performances of OWLEDs. TPBI host structure was better than other host structures in terms of quantum efficiency and color stability, while TCTA shows poor quantum efficiency in spite of good color stability. TCTA:TPBI mixed host structure showed better driving voltage than other host structures. In addition, recombination zone in blue/orange/blue stacked OWLEDs could be controlled by changing host structure in orange light-emitting layer. OWLEDs with TPBI host in orange emitting layer showed high quantum efficiency of 10.3% at 1000 cd/m² with little change of Commission international De L’Eclairage coordinates of (0.32, 0.34) from 100 cd/m² to 10,000 cd/m².     

Development of a new blue CaMgSi2O6:Eu2+ phosphor for PDPs

Abstract— A blue‐light‐emitting Eu²⁺‐doped CaMgSi₂O₆ phosphor having a long lifetime for a plasma‐display panel (PDP) was developed. The CaMgSi₂O₆:Eu²⁺(CMS:Eu) phosphors show no luminance degradation during the baking process, and an equivalent photoluminescence peak intensity compared to that of the conventional blue‐phosphor BaMgAl₁₀O₁₇:Eu²⁺ (BAM) after baking. CMS: Eu shows a poor luminescent characteristic for the Xe excimer band excitation due to the lack of absorption. To introduce the absorption center for the Xe excimer band, we performed Gd‐codoping of CMS: Eu as a sensitizer and found a new excitation band around 172 nm, which originated from Gd³⁺. The test PDPs panels using synthesized CMS: Eu phosphor and CMS: Eu, Gd phosphor were examined to investigate the luminescent and aging characteristics of a Xe‐discharge excitation source. The CMS: Eu panel shows an emission peak intensity comparable to that of the BAM panel (i.e., a comparable stimuli L/CIEy, 93% of BAM), while the CMS: Eu, Gd panel shows poorer blue emission intensity compared to the BAM panel (up to 53% of total stimuli of BAM). The CMS: Eu panel and the CMS: Eu, Gd panel show less luminance degradation than the BAM panel under the aging test, and the panel retains 90% of its luminance after 300 hours of driving. It was found that CMS: Eu appears to be a candidate for a new blue PDP phosphor because of its longevity in a Xe‐discharge plasma environment.     

A new perspective for the thermal degradation mechanism of blue BAM

A new thermal degradation mechanism for blue BAM (BaMgAl₁₀O₁₇:Eu²⁺) under thermal treatment in the presence of water is proposed. The water can be originated either from the thermal treatment steps, such as organic binder baking steps, or from the atmosphere under which blue BAM is being heated. Under such thermal treatment conditions, water molecules can be easily intercalated into the conduction layers of blue BAM, resulting in not only the depreciation of luminance but also in the emission color change toward green. The intercalated water molecules in the conduction layer, where Eu²⁺ ions are located along with Ba²⁺ ions, are strongly associated with Eu²⁺ ions, creating different coordination environments around Eu²⁺ ions. In this paper, the details of changes in emission behaviors along with water content in the water intercalated blue BAMs are discussed.     

High efficiency and ultra‐wide color gamut quantum dot LEDs for next generation displays

Colloidal quantum dot‐based hybrid light‐emitting diodes (QLEDs) have been demonstrated that exhibit quantum efficiencies (EQEs) >10% for all three fundamental colors red, green, and blue (21% EQE, 82 cd/A for green). This is the first report of a green QLED with EQE >20% and current efficiency >80 cd/A. The devices have the longest lifetimes reported in the literature (280k hrs) and extremely well‐tuned color fidelity. The narrow QLED emission spectra (full width at half maximum < 30 nm) and well‐controlled peak wavelengths generate a color gamut covering >170% of the National Television System Committee (NTSC) 1987 color space and ~90% of the Rec. 2020 color space. This color gamut is larger than that of OLED televisions in mass production and is the largest of all QLEDs reported. Additionally, these devices are completely fabricated using solution‐processing techniques. The extremely desirable properties of high efficiency, color tunability/fidelity, long lifetime, and low cost processing from solutions make QLED technology disruptive and will lead to next generation displays.     

Optoelectronic properties of poly(fluorene) co‐polymer light‐emitting devices on a plastic substrate*

Abstract— The optoelectronic properties of red, green, and blue poly(fluorene) co‐polymer light‐emitting devices (PLEDs) on a plastic substrate having a multi‐layered structure with water vapor and oxygen transmission rates of less than 10^?5 g/cm²‐day‐atm and 10^?7 cc/cm²‐day‐atm, respectively, is reported. A semitransparent thin metal multi‐layer (i.e., Au/Ag/Au or Ag/Au/Ag) is placed between the plastic substrate and the ITO coating, achieving a low sheet resistance of 12–13 Ω/□ and an adequate optical transmission greater than 75%. A wider color gamut and a maximum emission efficiency of 0.7, 10, and 1.7 cd/A for red, green, and blue PLEDs, respectively, was obtained. Finally, a simple equivalent‐circuit model was used to simulate the current‐density—voltage characteristics of PLEDs.     

Template effect on reconstruction of blue phase liquid crystal

The reconstruction capability of the blue phase (BP) template with low polymer concentration was investigated. A threshold polymer concentration to reconstruct the BP with the chiral three‐dimensional template was confirmed in different kinds of polymer systems. The anchoring energy of the template may reassemble the double twist cylinder structure of BP liquid crystal (BPLC) by refilling either the same‐handed or reverse‐handed chiral materials within a certain range of helical twisting power (HTP). Meanwhile, because of the lowered anchoring energy, the kerr constant of the reconstructed BPLC increased by 104%, from 1.81 nm/V² to 3.70 nm/V², by refilling the reverse‐handed chiral material.     

Assessment of visual fatigue under LED tunable white light with different blue components

Light‐emitting diode (LED) light source has high intensity emission of blue components absent in the daylight spectra and regulates human physiology and behavior. The aim of this study was to explore the effects of LED tunable white light with different blue‐component intensities on visual fatigue based on human eye photoreceptors. The short (S)‐cone and melanopsin illuminance were about 212% and 82% higher for blue‐enriched white light than blue‐less white light, respectively. The photopic illuminance was same for these two lights. The results revealed that blue‐enriched LED tunable white light with higher illuminance of S cones had a significant effect on visual fatigue. Participants experienced more eye discomfort under blue‐enriched white light accompanied with decreased vision function and changes in the autonomic nervous system. Visual acuity and tear film stability declined, and heart rhythm changed more significantly under blue‐enriched white light than blue‐less white light. While memory performance did not decline with more severe visual fatigue, improved memory performance under blue‐enriched white light may be due to enhanced alertness or arousal associated with high melanopsin illuminance. Our results suggest that blue‐enriched white light with higher illuminance of S cones and melanopsin has beneficial effects on cognitive performance, but it can induce relatively more visual fatigue.     

Highly efficient styrylamine-doped blue and white organic electroluminescent devices

We have developed highly efficient blue and white organic electroluminescent devices based on a blue fluorescent styrylamine dopant EBDP. The blue and white organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) with the structures: Indium–tin oxide (ITO)/copper phthalocyanine(CuPc)/N,N′-bis-(1-naphenyl)-N,N′-biphenyl-1,1′-bipheny1-4-4′-diamine (NPB)/2-t-butyl-9,10-di-(2-naphthyl)anthracene (TBADN):EBDP/tris(8-hydroxyquinoline)aluminum(Alq₃)/LiF/Al and ITO/CuPc/NPB/TBADN:EBDP: 4-(dicyanomethylene)-2-t-butyl-6-(1,1,7,7-tetramethyljulolidyl-9-enyl)-4H-pyran (DCJTB)/Alq₃/LiF/Al were studied by using EBDP as blue dopant. For the blue device, the maximum luminance and maximum efficiency were 26961 cd/m² and 8.29 cd/A, respectively, the luminance at a current density 20 mA/cm² was 1597 cd/m². For the white device, the maximum luminance of 32,291 cd/m², maximum efficiency 8.31 cd/A and the luminance of 1413 cd/m² at a current density 20 mA/cm² were obtained. The slow decrease of efficiency with the increase of current density indicates weak exciton–exciton annihilation, which is resulted from the large steric hindrance due to the non-planar structure of the fluorescence dye EBDP.     

The influence of the hole transport layers on the performance of blue and color tunable quantum dot light‐emitting diodes

The performance of the blue quantum dot light‐emitting diodes (QLEDs) is largely affected by the hole transport layers (HTLs). As a consequence of the deep valance band level of blue quantum dots (QDs), hole injection is relatively difficult in blue QLEDs. To favor the hole injection, HTLs with high hole mobility and deep‐lying highest occupied molecular orbital level are desired. In this work, various HTLs and their influence on the performance of blue QLEDs are demonstrated. Devices with poly(N‐vinylcarbazole) (PVK) HTL exhibit the highest external quantum efficiency while devices with poly[9,9‐dioctylfluorene‐co‐N‐(4‐(3‐methylpropyl))‐diphenylamine] (TFB) exhibit the lowest driving voltage. By combining the advantages of PVK and TFB, the blue QLEDs with TFB/PVK bilayered HTL simultaneously exhibit a low driving voltage of 2.6 V and a high external quantum efficiency of 5.9%. Moreover, the exciplex emission at the interface of HTL/QDs is also observed, and the emission intensity can be tuned by modulating the hole injection. By utilizing PVK doped with 25% poly(3‐hexylthiophene) (P3HT) as HTL, exciplex emission is significantly enhanced at low driving voltage while QD emission is dominant at high driving voltage. By combining the exciplex emission and the QD emission, the emission color can be effectively tuned from red to blue as the driving voltage changing from 2 to 10 V.     

Immobilization of horseradish peroxidase and nile blue into the ormosil nanocomposite for the fabrication of hydrogen peroxide biosensor based on MWCNT modified glassy carbon electrode

A novel approach to construct a second-generation amperometric biosensor is described. The classical redox dye nile blue (NB) as mediator and horseradish peroxidase as a base enzyme were coimmobilized into the multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) modified ormosil matrix. Nafion was dispersed into the matrix to enhance the rate of the electron transfer and prevent the cracking of the ormosil film. The surface morphology of MWCNT/NB/NAF/HRP nanocomposite was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Cyclic voltammetry and amperometry measurements were used to study and optimize the performance of the resulting peroxide biosensor. The apparent Michaelis–Menten constant was determined to be 1.1 mM. The effect of pH, applied potential and amount of the HRP enzyme on the electrochemical biosensor has been systematically studied. The fabricated biosensor demonstrated significant electrocatalytic activity for the reduction of hydrogen peroxide with wide linear range from 2 × 10⁻⁷ to 3.8 × 10⁻⁴ M, and low detection limit 1 × 10⁻⁷ M (S/N = 3) with fast response time <3 s. The facile procedure of immobilizing HRP and MWCNTs into the ormosil used in the present work can promote the development of electrochemical research for enzymes, proteins, biosensors, biofuel cells and other bioelectrochemical devices.     

Poly(brilliant cresyl blue) electrogenerated on single-walled carbon nanotubes modified electrode and its application in mediated biosensing system

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) functionalized with carboxylic acid groups were cast to glassy carbon electrode (GCE) to construct a three-dimensional nano-micro structured scaffold. Brilliant cresyl blue (BCB) was electropolymerized on the above-mentioned SWCNTs/GCE using continuous cycling between −0.7 and 0.9 V vs. SCE. PolyBCB yielded on SWCNTs/GCE exhibited the enhanced electrochemical redox behavior compared with that electrogenerated on bare GCE. The apparent surface coverage of PolyBCB obtained by SWCNTs/GCE was at least 10 times higher than that obtained by bare GCE, namely 4.8 × 10⁻⁹ and 3.6 × 10⁻¹⁰ mol cm⁻². The cyclic voltammograms recorded by PolyBCB/SWCNTs/GCE exhibited well-defined two peaks located at −0.25 V and −0.06 V, respectively, with a surface-controlled mechanism. In addition, morphologies of PolyBCB electrogenerated on GCE and SWCNTS/GCE were characterized by atomic force microscopy. Finally, this proposed PolyBCB/SWCNTs/GCE was used in the construction of the second-generation biosensors to hydrogen peroxide and glucose, with the enhanced analytical performance.     

基于红蓝通道先验主动光源偏振水下图像复原算法

针对光在水中传播距离短、损耗大造成图像信息损失严重、对比度低、色彩畸变问题,提出一种基于红蓝通道先验的主动光源偏振水下图像复原算法（ALPUIR-RBCP）,首先,研究光线在水体传播时的偏振特性,建立水下光学偏振模型;在此基础上,研究不同通道光信息差异性的先验知识和偏振度之间的映射关系,构建多通道光学偏振成像模型;进一步,结合后向散射光偏振度的光敏感性以及光分量间相关性,计算光照分布图和互信息,实现自适应偏振度估计,提高偏振度计算精度,增大目标信息光比重,从而提高图像复原质量。实验结果表明,对比传统的偏振光算法以及传统图像增强和复原算法,本算法不仅在主观上具有良好的水下图像复原效果,同时在各项评价指标中均有提高。