Organic bulk heterojunction photodetectors based on polymer blends with unbalanced mobilities

We investigate bulk heterojunction organic photodetectors with unbalanced charge carrier mobilities in the active layer. We present an experimental example of an organic photodiode with very unbalanced mobilities but achieving state-of-the-art parameters in terms of external quantum efficiency exceeding 75% (at illumination 638 nm), and of bandwidth exceeding 1 MHz. The active layer of the photodiode is a 50 nm thick bulk heterojunction made of a blend of PCBM and copolymer of 5,6-difluoro2,1,3-benzothiadiazole, with mobility of slower charge carriers of order of 5 x 10(-7)cm(2) (Vs)(-1)<i, estimated using space-charge-limited photocurrent technique. To understand why such a low mobility does not have deteriorating effects on the photodetecting performance of the photodiode, we performed drift-diffusion simulations of bulk heterojunction photodiodes with Langevin recombination. According to the simulation, the bandwidth of the photodiode is approximately independent of the mobility of slower charge carriers in the blend, and the negative effect of low mobility on the responsivity can be compensated by increasing the reverse bias. Our study shows that well-performing organic photodetectors can be fabricated using organic semiconductors having too low mobility for photovoltaic applications

Inkjet printing of super yellow : Ink formulation, film optimization, OLEDs fabrication, and transient electroluminescence

Inkjet printing technique allows manufacturing low cost organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) in ambient conditions. The above approach enables upscaling of the OLEDs fabrication process which, as a result, would become faster than conventionally used vacuum based processing techniques. In this work, we use the inkjet printing technique to investigate the formation of thin active layers of well-known light emitting polymer material: Super Yellow (poly(para-phenylene vinylene) copolymer). We develop the formulation of Super Yellow ink, containing non-chlorinated solvents and allowing stable jetting. Optimization of ink composition and printing resolution were performed, until good quality films suitable for OLEDs were obtained. Fabricated OLEDs have shown a remarkable characteristics of performance, similar to the OLEDs fabricated by means of spin coating technique. We checked that, the values of mobility of the charge carriers in the printed films, measured by transient electroluminescence, are similar to the values of mobility measured in spin coated films. Our contribution provides a complete framework for inkjet printing of high quality Super Yellow films for OLEDs. The description of this method can be used to obtain efficient printed OLEDs both in academic and in industrial settings

Inkjet Printing of an Electron Injection Layer: New Role of Cesium Carbonate Interlayer in Polymer OLEDs

Among solution-processable techniques, inkjet printing is a potential method for manufacturing low-cost and high-resolution polymer organic light-emitting diodes (PLEDs) for displays/solid-state lighting applications. Herein, we demonstrate use of the inkjet printed cesium carbonate (Cs2CO3) film as an electron injection interlayer. We have elaborated the Cs2CO3 ink using an alcohol-based solvent for the industrial-grade printhead. The printed Cs2CO3 layer morphology was investigated by means of an optical microscope and an atomic force microscope. The PLEDs based on emissive polymer (Super Yellow) with printed Cs2CO3 interlayer show a remarkable current efficiency and luminance compared to the PLEDs made without the Cs2CO3 layer. Such results suggest that the Cs2CO3 is a promising material for the formulation of the electron injecting inkjet inks. The possibility of inkjet printing of an efficient electron injecting layer enables in situ patterning of PLEDs’ emission area. Such a simple and flexible technique can be applied for a wide range of applications such as signage, pictograms, advertising, smart packaging, etc

Simplified transient space-charge-limited current measurements of mobility using transimpedance amplifier

International audienc

Slot-Die Coating of Double Polymer Layers for the Fabrication of Organic Light Emitting Diodes

This study presents the slot-die coating process of two layers of organic materials for the fabrication of organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs). Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS), which is commonly used in OLEDs and in organic photovoltaic devices as the hole injection layer (HIL), has been deposited via slot-die coating. Uniform films of PEDOT:PSS were obtained after optimizing the slot-die processing parameters: substrate temperature, coating speed, and ink flow rate. The film quality was examined using optical microscopy, profilometry, and atomic force microscopy. Further, poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene) (F8) and poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene-alt-benzothiadiazole) (F8BT), a well know polymer blend F8:F8BT, which is used as an emissive layer in OLEDs, has been slot-die coated. The optoelectronic properties of the slot-die coated F8:F8BT films were examined by means of photoluminescence (PL) and electroluminescence (EL) studies. The fabricated OLEDs, consisting of slot-die coated PEDOT:PSS and F8:F8BT films, were characterized to record the brightness and current efficienc

Electronic Structure of Exciplexes and the Role of Local Triplet States on Efficiency of Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence

In this work, we present an investigation of the electronic states in a series of thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) exciplexes formed with the popular electron-transport compound TpBpTa and hole-transporting TCTA, TAPC, TPD10, TPD, and NPB. We rationalize the photophysical behavior of exciplexes by using computational methods and demonstrate that the reason for the commonly observed temporal red shift in the time-resolved spectra is related to the distribution of molecular conformations, thus CT energy, in film. We also use spectrally resolved thermoluminescence (SRTL) measurements to give insight into the trapping phenomena in exciplex blends. The results demonstrate that trapped charge carriers in the majority of studied exciplexes recombine through the luminescent intermolecular CT state. In addition, we report OLED devices using the said exciplexes in the emissive layer. The best performance is obtained with the TCTA:TpBpTa and TAPC:TpBpTa exciplexes showing maximum external quantum efficiencies (EQEs) of 8.8% and 7.2%, respectively

Enhanced Charge Separation in Ternary P3HT/PCBM/CuInS₂ Nanocrystals Hybrid Solar Cells

International audienceGeminate recombination of bound polaron pairs at the donor/acceptor interface is one of the major loss mechanisms in organic bulk heterojunction solar cells. One way to overcome Coulomb attraction between opposite charge carriers and to achieve their full dissociation is the introduction of high dielectric permittivity materials such as nanoparticles of narrow band gap semiconductors. We selected CuInS2 nanocrystals of 7.4 nm size, which present intermediate energy levels with respect to poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and Phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM). Efficient charge transfer from P3HT to nanocrystals takes place as evidenced by light-induced electron spin resonance. Charge transfer between nanocrystals and PCBM only occurs after replacing bulky dodecanethiol (DDT) surface ligands with shorter 1,2-ethylhexanethiol (EHT) ligands. Solar cells containing in the active layer a ternary blend of P3HT:PCBM:CuInS2-EHT nanocrystals in 1:1:0.5 mass ratio show strongly improved short circuit current density and a higher fill factor with respect to the P3HT:PCBM reference device. Complementary measurements of the absorption properties, external quantum efficiency and charge carrier mobility indicate that enhanced charge separation in the ternary blend is at the origin of the observed behavior. The same trend is observed for blends using the glassy polymer poly(triarylamine) (PTAA)

Nine-ring angular fused biscarbazoloanthracene displaying a solid state based excimer emission suitable for OLED application

A new biscarbazoloanthracene consisting of nine fused aromatic rings, including two pyrrole units, has been obtained in a straightforward and convergent synthesis. Computational chemistry and conformational analysis revealed that the semiconductor’s molecule is not planar, the two carbazole moieties being helical twisted from the plane of the anthracene unit. Photophysical and electrochemical measurements showed that this angular fused heteroacene has a low lying HOMO energy level with a wide band gap despite its extended p-conjugated molecular framework. Based on its relatively low-lying HOMO level, the semiconductor promises a high environmental stability in comparison to other related linear fused acenes and heteroacenes. The biscarbazoloanthracene has been applied as the light emitting layer in a white light emitting diode (WOLED). It is proposed that the white OLED feature is due to dual light emission properties from the active semiconductor layer being based on both the molecular luminescence of the small molecule and a discrete excimer emission made possible by suitable aggregates in the solid state. Noteworthy, this is the first reported example of such a behavior observed in a small molecule heteroacene rather than an oligomer or a polymer