Recent Developments in Top‐Emitting Organic Light‐Emitting Diodes

Organic light‐emitting diodes (OLEDs) have rapidly progressed in recent years due to their unique characteristics and potential applications in flat panel displays. Significant advancements in top‐emitting OLEDs have driven the development of large‐size screens and microdisplays with high resolution and large aperture ratio. After a brief introduction to the architecture and types of top‐emitting OLEDs, the microcavity theory typically used in top‐emitting OLEDs is described in detail here. Then, methods for producing and understanding monochromatic (red, green, and blue) and white top‐emitting OLEDs are summarized and discussed. Finally, the status of display development based on top‐emitting OLEDs is briefly addressed.     

Semiconductor‐Nanocrystals‐Based White Light‐Emitting Diodes

In response to the demands for energy and the concerns of global warming and climate change, energy efficient and environmentally friendly solid‐state lighting, such as white light‐emitting diodes (WLEDs), is considered to be the most promising and suitable light source. Because of their small size, high efficiency, and long lifetime, WLEDs based on colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals (or quantum dots) are emerging as a completely new technology platform for the development of flat‐panel displays and solid‐state lighting, exhibiting the potential to replace the conventionally used incandescent and fluorescent lamps. This replacement can cut the ever‐increasing level of energy consumption, solve the problem of rapidly depleting fossil fuel reserves, and improve the quality of the global environment. In this review, the recent progress in semiconductor‐nanocrystals‐based WLEDs is highlighted, the different approaches for generating white light are compared, and the benefits and challenges of the solid‐state lighting technology are discussed.     

Electron Holographic Study of Semiconductor Light‐Emitting Diodes

Semiconductor light‐emitting diodes (LEDs), especially GaN‐based heterostructures, are widely used in light illumination. The lack of inversion symmetry of wurtzite crystal structures and the lattice mismatch at heterointerfaces cause large polarization fields with contributions from both spontaneous polarization and piezoelectric polarization, which in turn results in obvious quantum confined stark effect. It is possible to alleviate this effect if the local electrostatic fields and band alignment induced charge redistribution can be quantitatively determined across the heterostructures. In this Concept, the applications of electron holography to investigate semiconductor LEDs are summarized. Following the off‐axis electron holography scheme, the GaN‐based LED heterostructures including InGaN/GaN‐based quantum wells, other GaN‐based quantum wells, and other forms of GaN‐based LED materials are discussed, focusing on the local potential drops, polarization fields, and charge distributions. Moreover, GaAs‐based LED heterostructures are briefly discussed. The in‐line electron holography scheme emphasizes the capability of large area strain mapping across LED heterostructures with high spatial resolution and accuracy, which is combined with quantitative electrostatic measurements and other advanced transmission electron microscopy characterizations to provide an overall nanometer scale perspective of LED devices for further improvement in their electric and optical properties.