Spatial resolution of methods for measuring the light-emission profile in organic light-emitting diodes

An analysis is presented of the resolution limits of two alternative methods for deducing the light-emission profile in organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) from the angular and polarization dependent emission spectra. The comparison includes the "fit-profile" (FP) method, within which the known physics of the recombination process is employed to describe the shape of the profile using a strongly reduced number of degrees of freedom, and the Tikhonov method, which provides a more general solution. First, the cases of a delta-function shaped emission profile and a broad single-peak emission profile are investigated. It is demonstrated that for these cases a ~1¿nm resolution of the peak position may be obtained, provided that the peak is positioned optimally in the OLED microcavity. Subsequently, an analysis is given for a double-peak emission profile and for a rectangular profile, as may be obtained in multilayer OLEDs, revealing a resolution of ~10¿nm for the cases studied. It is suggested that, in general, an optimal analysis should be based on a combined Tikhonov-FP approach

Molecular origin of the anisotropic dye orientation in emissive layers of organic light emitting diodes

Molecular orientation anisotropy of the emitter molecules used in organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) can give rise to an enhanced light-outcoupling efficiency, when their transition dipole moments are oriented preferentially parallel to the substrate, and to a modified internal quantum efficiency, when their static dipole moments give rise to a locally modified internal electric field. Here, the orientation anisotropy of state-of-the-art phosphorescent dye molecules is investigated using a simulation approach which mimics the physical vapor deposition process of amorphous thin films. The simulations reveal for all studied systems significant orientation anisotropy. Various types are found, including a preference of the static dipole moments to a certain direction or axis. However, only few systems show an improved outcoupling efficiency. The outcoupling efficiency predicted by the simulations agrees with experimentally reported values. The simulations reveal in some cases a significant effect of the host molecules, and suggest that the driving force of molecular orientation lies in the molecule-specific van der Waals interactions of the dye molecule within the thin film surface. The electrostatic dipole-dipole interaction slightly reduces the anisotropy. These findings can be used for the future design of improved dye molecules.</p

Universal size-dependent conductance fluctuations in disordered organic semiconductors

Numerically exact results of hopping charge transport in disordered organic semiconductors show for uncorrelated and dipole-correlated Gaussian energy disorder a universal, power-law, and non-power-law dependence, respectively, of the relative conductance fluctuations on the size of the considered region. Data collapse occurs upon scaling with a characteristic length having a power-law temperature dependence. Below this length, which can be as high as 100 nm for correlated disorder in a realistic case, fluctuations dominate and a continuum description of charge transport breaks down

The Philips NatLab years:1964–1994

This article, written in honor of Jürgen Buschow on the occasion of his 90th birthday, discusses his work during a 30-year career at the Philips Research Laboratories in Eindhoven (The Netherlands), traditionally called the NatLab. We comment on this unique research environment and on Jürgen's way of working, and focus on his scientific work in the fields of permanent magnets, metal-hydrides for rechargeable batteries, and materials for magneto-optical recording, to which he made seminal and lasting contributions.</p

Interrelation of work function and surface stability: the case of BaAl4

The relationship between the work function (Phi) and the surface stability of compounds is, to our knowledge, unknown, but very important for applications such as organic light-emitting diodes. This relation is studied using first-principles calculations on various surfaces of BaAl4. The most stable surface [Ba terminated (001)] has the lowest Phi (1.95 eV), which is lower than that of any elemental metal including Ba. Adding barium to this surface neither increases its stability nor lowers its work function. BaAl4 is also strongly bound. These results run counter to the common perception that stability and a low Phi are incompatible. Furthermore, a large anisotropy and a stable low-work-function surface are predicted for intermetallic compounds with polar surfaces.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, to be published in Chem. Ma

Analysis of breakdown in ferromagnetic tunnel junctions

Due to their very thin tunnel barrier layer, magnetic tunnel junctions show dielectric breakdown at voltages of the order of 1 V. At the moment of breakdown, a highly conductive short is formed in the barrier and is visible as a hot spot. The breakdown effect is investigated by means of voltage ramp experiments on a series of nominally identical Co/Al2O3/Co tunnel junctions. The results are described in terms of a voltage dependent breakdown probability, and are further analyzed within the framework of a general model for the breakdown probability in dielectric materials, within which it is assumed that at any time the breakdown probability is independent of the (possibly time-dependent) voltage that has been previously applied. The experimental data can be described by several specific forms of the voltage breakdown probability function. A comparison with the models commonly used for describing thin film SiO2 breakdown is given, as well as suggestions for future experiments

Change of the barrier potential shape in magnetic tunnel junctions due to an anneal treatment

A very important process step in the fabrication of magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) is the application of a modest anneal step in the presence of a high magnetic field. Roughly, a doubling of the magnetoresistance (MR) ratio is commonly observed. We show that both AlOx as well as TaOx MTJs with Co90 Fe10 electrodes have similar oxidation time and anneal temperature dependencies of the MR ratios. In both cases, the maximum MR ratio shifts to higher oxidation times with annealing. TaOx MTJs are, in this sense, good model systems. From photoconductance experiments we find that for TaOx MTJs, this shift in maximum MR is accompanied by a similar shift of the zero crossing of the oxidation time dependent barrier asymmetry. This directly supports the point of view that for obtaining the highest MR ratio one should anneal MTJs that would be characterized as "slightly overoxidized" in the as-deposited state. We argue that this result can be understood by a homogenization of the oxygen distribution in the barrier, andor a change of the bottom barrier-electrode interface. © 2005 American Institute of Physics

Exchange through nonmagnetic insulating matrix

Exchange interactions between hard-magnetic particles in a nonmagnetic matrix are investigated by model calculations. A Landau–Ginzburg approach is developed to describe the net exchange interactions between spheres of arbitrary diameters. Introducing cylindrical coordinates and integrating over the surfaces of the adjacent spheres yields an exchange coupling which decreases with a decay length depending on interatomic exchange, intra-atomic exchange, and temperature. Typically, the decay length does not exceed a few interatomic distances. The decay is exponential but also contains a prefactor depending on the surface curvature of the grains. It increases with decreasing curvature, but this dependence is only a small correction to the leading exponential term

Electron transport in polyfluorene-based sandwich-type devices: Quantitative analysis of the effects of disorder and electron traps

Results of a combined experimental and modeling study of electron transport in a blue-emitting polyfluorene-based copolymer in sandwich-type devices are presented. We show how, for wide temperature and layer thickness ranges, an accurate and internally consistent drift-diffusion model description of the voltage-dependent current density can be obtained. We employ an adapted form of the "extended Gaussian disorder model," within which the density of states (DOS) is described as a superposition of a Gaussian DOS and an exponential DOS ("trap states"), characterized by only a small set of physically meaningful parameters. A comparison is made with the hole mobility reported for related polymers

Compositional dependence of the giant magnoresistance in FexRh1-x thin films

In this article we report on the magnetic and transport properties of FexRh1-x thin films, prepared by evaporation in high vacuum, in the composition range 0.4