Polymer-based scattering layers for internal light extraction from organic light emitting diodes

Efficient light extraction for organic light emitting diodes (OLED) using scalable processes and low-cost materials are important prerequisites for the future commercialization of OLED lighting devices. The light-extraction technology exhibited in this paper uses polymer-based high-refractive index scattering layers processed from solution. The scatter matrix formulation incorporates two types of nanoparticles for refractive index tuning and scattering, respectively. Planarization by the same material in order to reduce surface defects was critical for achieving highly increased device yield. Highly efficient and defect-free large-area (1.8 cm²) white OLED devices were fabricated on top of the scattering layer in a bottom emitter configuration. Light extraction enhancement leads to an overall efficiency gain of up to 81% for luminances of 5000 cd m⁻².     

基于BAlq的有机电致发光器件的磁效应

研究了ITO/NPB(40nm)/BAlq(60nm)/BCP(5nm)/LiF(0.8nm)/AI有机电致发光器件(OLED)的磁效应.实验结果表明,磁场在10mT时,器件的效率最大增加了34%,这一结果是由于三线态激子与三线态激子间的相互淬灭产生激发单线态激子从而使单线态激子比率增加,致使电致发光(EL)增强.当磁...     

Magnetic field effects on electroluminescence in phosphorescence organic light emitting diodes

In this letter, we presented a method to study the MFEs on the triplets in phosphorescent OLEDs. The magnetic electroluminescence (MEL) was obtained by doping a red phosphorescent guest with low concentration into a fluorescent host, where the guest and host can simultaneously emit. Experimentally two different MEL shapes of Lorentz and linear were observed, depending on the used host materials. We presented two different mechanisms to explain their difference. The diffusion process of triplets from host to guest and prolonged lifetime of triplet by magnetic field were attributed to the formation of the Lorentz shape, and it is considered that the linear shape was caused by magnetic field increased Dexter energy transfer rate and determined by the triplet energy difference between guest and host. It can be seen that the competition of two processes lead to the formation of the two different MEL shapes in the phosphorescent OLEDs.     

面向彩色有机微显示的有机白光顶发射器件

以比铝、银等金属材料透光性更好的铜作为白光有机顶发射器件的顶电极,将其应用到基于Al底电极的蓝、黄互补色顶发射白光有机电致发光器件(TEWOLED),通过合理设计器件结构,制备出的器件具有较低的驱动电压和较高的效率,4V下亮度超过1 000cd/m2、功率效率达到28.5lm/W,效率滚降较小。我们利用p型电学掺杂结构和电子注入缓冲层结构分别解决了铝和铜电极功函数同空穴传输层的HOMO能级和电子传输层的LUMO能级不匹配问题,并通过TcTa光学覆盖层的调节作用使器件具有较好的光谱稳定性。基于Cu顶电极的TEWOLED与采用Al作为互连金属的CMOS工艺兼容,我们将该器件与硅基CMOS驱动电路结合,获得了SVGA白光有机微显示器件,为彩色有机发光微显示的实现奠定了基础。     

Gravure printed flexible small-molecule organic light emitting diodes

Small-molecule based flexible organic light-emitting diodes (SMOLEDs) were fabricated by gravure printing. In order to modify rheological properties of the functional ink, the green emitter was embedded into an ultrahigh molecular weight polystyrene (UHMW-PS) matrix. The viscosity of the ink was characterized as a function of the small molecule:UHMW-PS weight ratio and solvent type. The gravure printed SMOLEDs exhibited a maximum luminance of 850 cd m⁻², a maximum efficiency of up to 7.7 cd A⁻¹, and turn on voltage of ∼3.5 V. The gravure printed SM:UHMW-PS device exhibits ∼67% higher luminance efficiency comparing to the spin-coated pristine SM device.     

Post-fabrication electric field and thermal treatment of polymer light emitting diodes and their photovoltaic properties

This work presents post-fabrication electric field and heat treatment methods developed for polymer light emitting diodes (PLEDs), which have degraded due to exposure to oxygen and water vapors during low-cost fabrication performed in standard room conditions. Investigated PLEDs have structures composed of indium tin oxide (ITO), poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene), poly(styrenesulfonate), (PEDOT:PSS), poly[2-methoxy-5-(2′-ethyl-hexyloxy)-1,4-phenylene vinylene] (MEH-PPV), and aluminum (Al). Heat treatment restores the light emitting function of dysfunctional PLEDs but also causes a high turn-on voltage of 10 V. Electric field treatment utilizing ?1 V reduces this high turn-on voltage to 3 V. This procedure also improves open circuit voltages from 5 mV to 55 mV, and short circuit currents from 0.5 nA to 5 nA when PLEDs are operated as photovoltaic cells under a light intensity of 500 mW/m². Repeated I–V sweep measurements additionally show improved stability and uniformity. The reasons for these improvements, the usage of an optimal treatment temperature of 130 °C, and the usage of treatment voltages of 0 and ?1 V are discussed.     

具有凹凸界面结构的有机发光器件的性能研究

通过采用毫米尺度的凹凸界面结构实现了有机发光器件(Organic Light Emitting Device,OLED)发光效率的提高。在制备OLED器件过程中使用双狭缝模板,在发光层的界面处构建了高度为10nm的凸起,获得最大功率效率为23.9lm/W,最大电流效率为45.6cd/A,与传统的平直界面的OLED相比,分别提高了70%和36%。经过实验数据分析与理论模拟得出初步结论:OLED发光效率提高主要归因于金属界面处局域表面等离子体共振激发,提高了金属阴极界面的远场散射,从而提高OLED的出光效率;另外适当凹凸深度也改善了器件的电学性能。     

Silver grid transparent conducting electrodes for organic light emitting diodes

Polymer organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) were fabricated using thin silver hexagonal grids replacing indium tin oxide (ITO) as the transparent conducting electrodes (TCE). Previous literature has assumed that thick metal grids (several hundred nanometres thick) with a lower sheet resistance (<10 Ω/□) and a similar light transmission (>80%) compared to thinner grids would lead to OLEDs with better performance than when thinner metal grid lines are used. This assumption is critically examined using OLEDs on various metal grids with different thicknesses and studying their performances. The experimental results show that a 20 nm thick silver grid TCE resulted in more efficient OLEDs with higher luminance (10 cd/A and 1460 cd/m² at 6.5 V) than a 111 nm thick silver grid TCE (5 cd/A and 159 cd/m² at 6.5 V). Furthermore, the 20 nm thick silver grid OLED has a higher luminous efficiency than the ITO OLED (6 cd/A and 1540 cd/m² at 6.5 V) at low voltages. The data shows that thinner metal grid TCEs (about 20 nm) make the most efficient OLEDs, contrary to previous expectations.     

Efficient white organic light emitting diodes with solution processed and vacuum deposited emitting layers

The white light emitting diode based on small molecules, which have double emitting layers, was fabricated by combining a solution process and a vacuum deposition process. The organic light emitting diode that we have prepared utilizes a three phosphorescent guest materials, iridium(III)bis(4′,6′-difluorophenylpyridinato)tetrakis(1-pyrazolyl)borate, fac tris(2-phenylpyridine) iridium (III) and tris[1-phenylisoquinolinato-C2,N] iridium (III), exhibits a high color rendering index of over 82. Despite its ease of fabrication, the peak power efficiency was about 16 lm/W. The high efficiency was attributed to the distribution of the emitting region over the two emitting layers, which is caused by energy transfer between the phosphorescent guests.     

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.     

Phosphorescent organic light emitting diodes with a cross-linkable hole transporting material

A cross-linkable hole transporting material PLEXCORE® HTL was incorporated in phosphorescent organic light emitting diodes. This hole transporting material is based on an arylamine derivate. The device performance in terms of efficiency and lifetime was compared to the same devices with a thermally evaporated 4,4′-bis[N-(1-naphthyl)-N-phenylamino]biphenyl (NPB)-based hole transporting layer. The resulting devices with the cross-linkable HTL gave higher efficiency, smaller roll-off and longer lifetime compared with devices with the NPB-based devices. This new hole transporting material paves the road toward solution processed multilayer light emitting devices.     

High-brightness AlGaInP light emitting diodes

First commercially introduced in 1990, AlGaInP light emitting diodes (LEDs) currently are the highest (luminous) efficiency visible solid-state emitters produced to date in the red through yellow spectral regime. The attainment of this high-efficiency performance is a result of the development of advanced metalorganic chemical vapor deposition crystal growth techniques, which have facilitated the high-quality growth of this quaternary alloy as well as the implementation of complex device designs. Furthermore, the highest efficiency family of AlGaInP devices (based upon a transparent-substrate platform and commercially introduced in 1994) have been realized as result of the development and implementation of direct compound semiconductor wafer bonding technology. As a result, the luminous efficiency of AlGaInP LEDs exceeds or rivals that of unfiltered incandescent lamps and other conventional lighting sources. Further improvements in these techniques (and the realization of efficient, high-power LEDs) are expected to make AlGaInP LEDs even more competitive with conventional lamp technology, thus enhancing the position of LED's in many applications as a preferred lighting source     

Materials for light emitting diodes

III–V semiconductor display diodes fall into three material categories: direct, indirect, and diode-phosphor combinations. The light generation mechanisms are well understood in each case. On the basis of the luminous efficacy achieved in the laboratory, the merit of the various materials is in the order: GaP: N (green), GaP: Zn, O (red), GaInP (yellow), GaAsP (red), GaAlAs (red) and GaAs-phosphor combinations (red, green, blue). A more comprehensive assessment of quality must take into account factors such as the economic feasibility of the methods of synthesis, the applicability to monolithic arrays, and the suitability of spectra (hue, contrast, saturation, etc.). The degree of importance of these matters and the limitations of the various materials are less well-defined at present. New developments which may have an impact on the future of display diodes include the use of Al_xGa_1-xP in place of GaP to shift spectra to shorter wavelengths, the possible development of very bright direct alloys of InP with either GaP or A1P, and the doping of GaAsP with N to extend its range of colors.     

A new pixel circuit for active matrix organic light emitting diodes

We propose a new thin-film-transistor (TFT) pixel circuit for active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) composed of four TFTs and two capacitors. The simulation results, based on the device performances measured for an OLED and a poly-Si TFT, indicate that the proposed circuit has high immunity to the variation of poly-Si TFT characteristics     

Correlations of impedance-voltage characteristics and carrier mobility in organic light emitting diodes

The correlation of accumulation charges at the interfaces of organic layers and carrier mobility in organic light emitting devices (OLEDs) were investigated through the impedance versus voltage (Z-V) characteristics of devices. The properties of devices with various combinations of cathode structures, HTLs and ETLs were investigated to understand the impedance transition in Z-V characteristics of OLEDs. It was observed that there is an extra impedance transition before devices turn on when the hole mobility in the HTL is much greater than the electron mobility in the ETL in the devices, which makes the Z-V characteristics a potential tool to compare the electron mobility in ETL and hole mobility in HTL.     

Highly efficient white transparent organic light emitting diodes with nano-structured substrate

Enhancing outcoupling efficiency and stabilizing emission spectra are of high technical importance in realizing high quality white transparent organic light emitting diodes (TOLEDs). In this work, we demonstrate a random nano-scattering layer (RSL) as a structure which can effectively address those tasks. The RSL contributes to bottom and top emissions by scattering and reflection, respectively. With the use of RSL, we achieved remarkable total efficiency enhancement of 101%. Also, a viewing angle independent stable white spectrum with a color rendering index of 79 was achieved. With its straight forward processing, our RSL can be readily applied to deal with various photonic applications to enhance both efficiency and emission spectra.     

Impact of temperature on the efficiency of organic light emitting diodes

Organic light emitting devices (OLEDs) are known to heat up when driven at high brightness levels required for lighting and bright display applications. This so called Joule heating can in the extreme case lead to a catastrophic failure (breakdown) of the device. In this work, we compare the effect of Joule heated and externally heated OLEDs by their electrical and optical response. A reduction in resistance is observed at elevated temperatures, both, for Joule heating, and for externally heated samples driven at low current density. In both cases, we attribute the change in resistance to a higher mobility of charge carriers at the elevated temperatures. Additionally, we observe a quenching of the emission efficiency in heated single layers as well as in OLEDs, treated with an external heat source as well as on Joule heated samples.     

Highly efficient green phosphorescent organic light emitting diodes with simple structure

A series of simple structures is investigated for realization of the highly efficient green phosphorescent organic light emitting diodes with relatively low voltage operation. All the devices were fabricated with mixed host system by using 1,1-bis[(di-4-tolylamino)phenyl]cyclohexane (TAPC) and 1,3,5-tri(p-pyrid-3-yl-phenyl)benzene (TpPyPB) which were known to be hole and electron type host materials due to their great hole and electron mobilities [μ_h(TAPC): 1 × 10^?2 cm²/V s and μ_e(TpPyPB): 7.9 × 10^?3 cm²/V s] [1]. The optimized device with thin TAPC (5–10 nm) as an anode buffer layer showed relatively high current and power efficiency with low roll-off characteristic up to 10,000 cd/m². The performances of the devices; with buffer layer were compared to those of simple devices with single layer and three layers. Very interestingly, the double layer device with TAPC buffer layer showed better current and power efficiency behavior compared to that of three layer device with both hole and electron buffer layers (TAPC, TpPyPB, respectively).     

Suppressing molecular aggregation in solution processed small molecule organic light emitting diodes

Solution processing of low-molecular weight organic materials for optoelectronic devices is a challenging task due to often strong molecular aggregation. We present a facile and universal route for suppressing the aggregation of molecules during wet-deposition of emission layers for organic light emitting diodes by incorporating electronically inactive polymers. Moderate polymer concentrations of about 10 wt.% lead to only minor changes of the electrical performance while at the same time improving the film formation and consequently the device luminance significantly. The device performance matches the performance of vacuum processed devices with the same device architecture.