Electroluminescence from light-emitting diodes by using water-dispersed ZnSe nanocrystals and polymer

Electroluminescence was obtained from an indium-tin-oxide/poly[2-methoxy-5-(2'-ethylhexyloxy)-1,4-phenylene vinylene] (MEH-PPV): ZnSe/2,9-dimethyl-4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline (BCP)/ 8-tris-hydroxyquinoline (Alq3)/LiF/Al structured device, in which ZnSe nanocrystals were synthesized in aqueous solution by using mercapto-acetate acid as stabilizer. The mechanical, electrical, and optical properties of the device were established. The photoluminescence and electroluminescence spectra changed with the mass ratio of ZnSe to MEH-PPV in the composite. Comparison between the absorption spectra and photoluminescence spectra of the ZnSe nanocrystals and the MEH-PPV thin film exhibited an effective energy transfer from ZnSe nanocrystals to MEH-PPV, which was one reason for the difference between the photoluminescence and electroluminescence spectra of the MEH-PPV: ZnSe composite film. The recombination mechanism of ZnSe nanocrystals under photo excitation and electric injection was investigated with the help of a single layer device structure of indium-tin-oxide/ZnSe/LiF/Al.     

The fabrication of light-emitting devices from hot-pressed ZnSe powders

A hot-pressing process was developed to synthesize fine ZnSe powders into compacts with high bulk density. The hot-pressed ZnSe powder compacts after an annealing treatment in the Zn-Al alloy melt were readily processed into light-emitting devices based on a metal-semiconductor (M-S) device structure. The fabricated devices are found to emit light in the orange region of the visible spectrum and have a room temperature quantum efficiency of the order of 10^–6 photons/electron in the reverse direction. The photoluminescence and electroluminescence characteristics of the hot-pressed ZnSe powder compacts are also found to be very similar to those observed in single crystal material.     

High-efficiency silicon nanocrystal light-emitting devices

We demonstrate highly efficient electroluminescence from silicon nanocrystals (SiNCs). In an optimized nanocrystal-organic light-emitting device, peak external quantum efficiencies of up to 8.6% can be realized with emission originating solely from the SiNCs. The high efficiencies reported here demonstrate for the first time that with an appropriate choice of device architecture it is possible to achieve highly efficient electroluminescence from nanocrystals of an indirect band gap semiconductor.     

有机发光器件的研究进展

介绍了有机电致发光器件(OLED的历史，结构,材料及制作工艺；分析了发光机理及性能；展望了OLED的应用前景。     

Extrafluorescent electroluminescence in organic light-emitting devices

Organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs) are a promising technology for flat-panel displays and solid-state lighting. While OLED efficiencies have increased dramatically in recent years, further progress is complicated by the fact that the vast majority of organic materials are fluorescent and therefore emit only from molecular excited states ('excitons') with spin 0, or 'singlet' spin symmetry. Here, we demonstrate the ability to manipulate the fraction of excitons which form as singlets in fluorescent materials by altering the OLED structure. We insert a mixing layer that affects only charge-transfer (CT) states, which are the precursors to excitons. As a result, we triple the singlet fraction and the efficiency of the red fluorophore DCM2. We term fluorescence enhanced by CT spin mixing 'extrafluorescence', and show that its origin is in part an inversion of the usual energetic ordering of the singlet and triplet CT states.     

白色有机发光材料与器件

综述了白色有机电致发光材料和器件的研究进展;归纳了获取白色有机电致发光的途径和方法;分析了多种器件结构的特点及其材料;结合研究过程中存在的某些问题,从器件的发光效率和色纯度角度,讨论了影响发光器件性能的诸因素及其改进措施.     

Electroluminescence from ZnS:MnCl2 thin film devices co-doped with MgF2 or MgS

 We report a red shift in the light emission from thin film electroluminescent devices consisting of ZnS co-doped with MgF₂ and MnCl₂ as the phosphor semiconductors and Ta₂O₅ films as insulators. The electroluminescence spectrum shows two peaks at ∼615 nm and at ∼670 nm. The devices have a threshold of about 110 V under 50 Hz a.c driving voltage and show brightness over ∼100 cd/m² at 160 V. The devices are compared with MgS co-doped devices which show green shifted light emission. Received: 28 August 1998 / Reviewed and accepted: 28 September 1998     

Doping and trap states in PPV light-emitting devices

The influence of different substrates used for the fabrication of poly-(p-phenylene-vinylene) light-emitting devices on the device characteristics is investigated. In devices prepared on indium-tin oxide substrates doping with InCl₃ leads to states with a depth of about 0.15 eV and a concentration of 10¹⁶–10¹⁷ cm⁻³. This doping is responsible for the observed Schottky diode behaviour in PPV devices on ITO but also leads to considerable photoluminescence quenching. The use of fluorine-doped tin dioxide as anode material causes much lower doping and avoids photoluminescence quenching. An improvement of device properties can be achieved by controlled doping or using partially conjugated PPV.     

Organic light-emitting devices based on solution-processible quinolato-complex supramolecules

This paper discusses a new type of supramolecular material tris{5-N-[3-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)propyl]-N-(4-methylphenyl)aminesulfonyl-8-hydroxyquinolato} aluminum(III), Al(SCarq)₃, which we synthesized using three 5-N-[3-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)propyl]-N-(4-methylphenyl)aminesulfonyl-8-hydroxyquinoline as bidentate ligands. The peak photoluminescence in the solid phase appears at 488 nm. In cyclic voltammetric measurement, two oxidation peaks, which were obtained at ?5.6 and ?5.9 eV, correspond to HOMO sites of carbazoyl and aluminum quinolates, respectively. In the investigation of solid morphological thin film, the flat surface was investigated using an atomic force microscope. The root mean square (rms) and mean roughness (R_a) were respectively measured to be 0.427 and 0.343 nm. For the fabrication of organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs) using spin-coating techniques, the turn-on voltage and maximum luminescence of the optimized electroluminescence device, glass/ITO (20 nm)/PEDOT:PSS (75 nm)/Al(SCarq)₃ (85 nm)/BCP (8 nm)/LiF (1 nm)/Al (200 nm), were respectively 9.6 V and 35.0 cd m^?2. Due to the electroplex formation between the carbazole (electron-donor) and the aluminum quinolates (electron-acceptor) moieties under an applied DC bias, the chromaticity of electroluminescence shifted to green-yellow with 1931 CIE_x,y (0.40, 0.47).     

Thermally stable triphenylene-based hole-transporting materials for organic light-emitting devices

The thermally stable hole transport layer (HTL) materials, 1,4-bis[(N,N′-di(2-naphthyl)-N,N′-diphenyl)aminophenyl]triphenylene (NPAPT) and 1,4-bis[(N,N′-di(2-naphthyl)-N,N′-diphenyl) aminophenyl]-2,3-diphenyl triphenylene (NPAPPT), were synthesized and the device performances of the organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) with NPAPT and NPAPPT as a hole transport layer were investigated. The glass transition temperatures of NPAPT and NPAPPT could be enhanced to 153 °C and 157 °C by the introduction of a rigid triphenylene backbone in the main chain. The use of NPAPT and NPAPPT as a HTL for OLEDs lowered the driving voltage and enhanced the light-emitting efficiency. The power efficiencies of triphenylene-based devices with tris(8-hydroxyquinoline)aluminum as an emitting material could be improved by 20% compared with that of N,N′-di(naphthalene-1-yl)-N,N′-diphenyl benzidine based devices.     

Top emission organic light-emitting devices with CsCl capping layer

We have developed top emission organic light-emitting devices using a CsCl capping layer on top of semitransparent Ca/Ag cathode. By using a CsCl capping layer, the transmittance of top electrode can be improved by 93%. While the electrical conduction characteristic of device is not influenced by the capping layer, the current efficiency increases with increasing the transmittance of Ca/Ag/CsCl cathode. For example, as the transmittance of top electrode increases from 55 to 91% by varying CsCl thickness, the current efficiency of green fluorescent top-emitting device increases from 8 to 18 cd/A.     

Recent progresses on materials for electrophosphorescent organic light-emitting devices

Although organic light-emitting devices have been commercialized as flat panel displays since 1997, only singlet excitons were emitted. Full use of singlet and triplet excitons, electrophosphorescence, has attracted increasing attentions after the premier work made by Forrest, Thompson, and co-workers. In fact, red electrophosphorescent dye has already been used in sub-display of commercial mobile phones since 2003. Highly efficient green phosphorescent dye is now undergoing of commercialization. Very recently, blue phosphorescence approaching the theoretical efficiency has also been achieved, which may overcome the final obstacle against the commercialization of full color display and white light sources from phosphorescent materials. Combining light out-coupling structures with highly efficient phosphors (shown in the table-of-contents image), white emission with an efficiency matching that of fluorescent tubes (90 lm/W) has now been realized. It is possible to tune the color to the true white region by changing to a deep blue emitter and corresponding wide gap host and transporting material for the blue phosphor. In this article, recent progresses in red, green, blue, and white electrophosphorescent materials for OLEDs are reviewed, with special emphasis on blue electrophosphorescent materials.     

Solution-processed small molecule thin films and their light-emitting devices

Thin films of N,N′-bis-(3-Naphthyl)-N,N′-biphenyl-(1,1′-biphenyl)-4,4′-diamine (NPB), tris-(8-hydroxyquinoline)-aluminum (Alq₃) and their blends prepared by spin-coating process were investigated. Experimental results revealed that the NPB films prepared by spin-coating process have smoother surface than that of Alq₃, which was attributed to their different molecular structures. Organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs) with emitting layer prepared by spin-coating the blends of NPB and Alq₃ exhibited a maximum luminance and a current efficiency over 10,000 cd/m² and 3.8 cd/A respectively, and when 10-(2-benzothiazolyl)-2,3,6,7-tetrahydro-1,1,7,7-tetramethyl-1H,5H,11H-[l]benzopyrano[6,7,8-ij]quinolizin-11-one was doped in, a current efficiency of 8 cd/A can be obtained. Comparative device performance to the vapor-deposited OLEDs suggested that solution-process could be an alternative route for the fabrication of OLEDs based on Alq₃.     

Photodegradation of organic light-emitting devices observed in nitrogen-filled environment

Degradation of organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs) upon ultraviolet (UV) irradiation has been studied by measuring luminance-voltage (L-V) and current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of the devices in a nitrogen-filled glove-box. Photo-oxidation or reaction is no longer the main origin of the degradation for the devices protected by nitrogen. Conventional double-layer OLEDs with tris(8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminum (Alq₃) as the electron transport material and single-layer devices containing Alq₃ as the only organic material exhibit different degradation behaviors: both L-V and I-V characteristics degrade severely for the irradiated double-layer devices, whereas whether I-V degrades or not in a single-layer device is closely related to the species of the charge carriers flowing in the device. By comparing electroluminescent and photoluminescent degradation behaviors of the single-Alq₃-layer devices, we conclude that lowered fluorescent quantum efficiency and hole current after UV irradiation are two origins of the degraded characteristics of the devices isolated from the moist environment.