Inverted Organic Light Emitting Diodes: Optical and Electrical Device Improvement

This study focuses on the investigation of the key parameters that determine the optical and electrical characteristics of inverted top-emitting organic light emitting diodes (OLED). A co-deposition of small molecules in vacuum is used to establish electrically doped films that are applied in n-i-p layered devices. The knowledge about the functionality of each layer and parameter is important to develop efficient strategies to reach outstanding device performances. In the first part, the thin film optics of top-emitting OLEDs are investigated, focusing on light extraction via cavity tuning, external outcoupling layers (capping layer), and the application of microlens films. Optical simulations are performed to determine the layer configuration with the maximum light extraction efficiency for monochrome phosphorescent devices. The peak efficiency is found at 35%, while varying the thickness of the charge transport layers, the semitransparent anode, and the capping layer simultaneously. Measurements of the spatial light distribution validate, that the capping layer influences the spectral width and the resonance wavelength of the extracted cavity mode, especially for TM polarization. Further, laminated microlens films are applied to benefit from strong microcavity effects in stacked OLEDs by spatial mixing of external and to some extend internal light modes. These findings are used to demonstrate white top-emitting OLEDs on opaque substrates showing power conversion efficiencies up to 30 lm/W and a color rendering index of 93, respectively. In the second part, the charge carrier management of n-i-p layered diodes is investigated as it strongly deviates from that of the p-i-n layered counterparts. The influence of the bottom cathode material and the electron transport layer is found to be negligible in terms of driving voltage, which means that the assumption of an ohmic bottom contact is valid. The hole transport and the charge carrier injection at the anode is much more sensitive to the evaporation sequence, especially when using hole transport materials with a glass transition temperature below 100°C. As a consequence, thermal annealing of fabricated inverted OLEDs is found to drastically improve the device electronics, resulting in lower driving voltages and an increased internal efficiency. The annealing effect on charge transport comes from a reduced charge accumulation due to an altered film morphology of the transport layers, which is proven for electrons and for holes independently. The thermal treatment can further lead to a device degradation. Finally, the thickness and the material of the blocking layers which usually control the charge confinement inside the OLED are found to influence the recombination much more effectively in inverted OLEDs compared to non-inverted ones

Controlling the behavior of single live cells with high density arrays of microscopic OLEDs

This work was supported in part by the Scottish Funding Council (via SUPA) and the Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP). The authors thank Andrew Morton (U St Andrews) for fruitful discussions.Microarrays of OLEDs are used to ­optically control the locomotion of individual cells in real time. Close contact (<2 μm) between OLEDs and the aqueous cell culture medium is facilitated by high-performance thin-film encapsulation. This work paves the way for using OLED light sources to control and study neuronal activity and cell signaling with extreme spatial and temporal resolution.PostprintPeer reviewe

Interplay of Fluorescence and Phosphorescence in Organic Biluminescent Emitters

Biluminescent organic emitters show simultaneous fluorescence and phosphorescence at room temperature. So far, the optimization of the room temperature phosphorescence (RTP) in these materials has drawn the attention of research. However, the continuous wave operation of these emitters will consequently turn them into systems with vastly imbalanced singlet and triplet populations, which is due to the respective excited state lifetimes. This study reports on the exciton dynamics of the biluminophore NPB (N,N-di(1-naphthyl)-N,N-diphenyl-(1,1-biphenyl)-4,4-diamine). In the extreme case, the singlet and triplet exciton lifetimes stretch from 3 ns to 300 ms, respectively. Through sample engineering and oxygen quenching experiments, the triplet exciton density can be controlled over several orders of magnitude allowing to studying exciton interactions between singlet and triplet manifolds. The results show, that singlet-triplet annihilation reduces the overall biluminescence efficiency already at moderate excitation levels. Additionally, the presented system represents an illustrative role model to study excitonic effects in organic materials.Comment: 45 pages, 10 figures (main manuscript and supplementary information

Inverted Organic Light Emitting Diodes: Optical and Electrical Device Improvement

This study focuses on the investigation of the key parameters that determine the optical and electrical characteristics of inverted top-emitting organic light emitting diodes (OLED). A co-deposition of small molecules in vacuum is used to establish electrically doped films that are applied in n-i-p layered devices. The knowledge about the functionality of each layer and parameter is important to develop efficient strategies to reach outstanding device performances. In the first part, the thin film optics of top-emitting OLEDs are investigated, focusing on light extraction via cavity tuning, external outcoupling layers (capping layer), and the application of microlens films. Optical simulations are performed to determine the layer configuration with the maximum light extraction efficiency for monochrome phosphorescent devices. The peak efficiency is found at 35%, while varying the thickness of the charge transport layers, the semitransparent anode, and the capping layer simultaneously. Measurements of the spatial light distribution validate, that the capping layer influences the spectral width and the resonance wavelength of the extracted cavity mode, especially for TM polarization. Further, laminated microlens films are applied to benefit from strong microcavity effects in stacked OLEDs by spatial mixing of external and to some extend internal light modes. These findings are used to demonstrate white top-emitting OLEDs on opaque substrates showing power conversion efficiencies up to 30 lm/W and a color rendering index of 93, respectively. In the second part, the charge carrier management of n-i-p layered diodes is investigated as it strongly deviates from that of the p-i-n layered counterparts. The influence of the bottom cathode material and the electron transport layer is found to be negligible in terms of driving voltage, which means that the assumption of an ohmic bottom contact is valid. The hole transport and the charge carrier injection at the anode is much more sensitive to the evaporation sequence, especially when using hole transport materials with a glass transition temperature below 100°C. As a consequence, thermal annealing of fabricated inverted OLEDs is found to drastically improve the device electronics, resulting in lower driving voltages and an increased internal efficiency. The annealing effect on charge transport comes from a reduced charge accumulation due to an altered film morphology of the transport layers, which is proven for electrons and for holes independently. The thermal treatment can further lead to a device degradation. Finally, the thickness and the material of the blocking layers which usually control the charge confinement inside the OLED are found to influence the recombination much more effectively in inverted OLEDs compared to non-inverted ones

Inverted Organic Light Emitting Diodes: Optical and Electrical Device Improvement

This study focuses on the investigation of the key parameters that determine the optical and electrical characteristics of inverted top-emitting organic light emitting diodes (OLED). A co-deposition of small molecules in vacuum is used to establish electrically doped films that are applied in n-i-p layered devices. The knowledge about the functionality of each layer and parameter is important to develop efficient strategies to reach outstanding device performances. In the first part, the thin film optics of top-emitting OLEDs are investigated, focusing on light extraction via cavity tuning, external outcoupling layers (capping layer), and the application of microlens films. Optical simulations are performed to determine the layer configuration with the maximum light extraction efficiency for monochrome phosphorescent devices. The peak efficiency is found at 35%, while varying the thickness of the charge transport layers, the semitransparent anode, and the capping layer simultaneously. Measurements of the spatial light distribution validate, that the capping layer influences the spectral width and the resonance wavelength of the extracted cavity mode, especially for TM polarization. Further, laminated microlens films are applied to benefit from strong microcavity effects in stacked OLEDs by spatial mixing of external and to some extend internal light modes. These findings are used to demonstrate white top-emitting OLEDs on opaque substrates showing power conversion efficiencies up to 30 lm/W and a color rendering index of 93, respectively. In the second part, the charge carrier management of n-i-p layered diodes is investigated as it strongly deviates from that of the p-i-n layered counterparts. The influence of the bottom cathode material and the electron transport layer is found to be negligible in terms of driving voltage, which means that the assumption of an ohmic bottom contact is valid. The hole transport and the charge carrier injection at the anode is much more sensitive to the evaporation sequence, especially when using hole transport materials with a glass transition temperature below 100°C. As a consequence, thermal annealing of fabricated inverted OLEDs is found to drastically improve the device electronics, resulting in lower driving voltages and an increased internal efficiency. The annealing effect on charge transport comes from a reduced charge accumulation due to an altered film morphology of the transport layers, which is proven for electrons and for holes independently. The thermal treatment can further lead to a device degradation. Finally, the thickness and the material of the blocking layers which usually control the charge confinement inside the OLED are found to influence the recombination much more effectively in inverted OLEDs compared to non-inverted ones

Narrow Bandwidth Top-Emitting OLEDs Designed for Rhodamine 6G Excitation in Biological Sensing Applications

Organic light emitting diodes (OLED) are promising candidates offering in optical sensor applications to detect different gas compositions and excitable optical marker groups in chemical and biological processes. They enable attractive solutions for monitoring the gas phase composition of e.g., dissolved molecular oxygen (O2) species in bio reactors or excitation of fluorescent markers. In this work, we investigate different OLED devices for biomedical applications to excite the fluorescent dye rhodamine 6G (R6G). The OLED devices are built in top emission geometry comprising a distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) acting as optical mirror. The OLED is optimized to provide a very narrow emission characteristic to excite the R6G at 530 nm wavelength and enabling the possibility to minimize the optical crosstalk between the OLED electroluminescence and the fluorescence of R6G. The DBR includes a thin film encapsulation and enables the narrowing of the spectral emission band depending on the number of DBR pairs. The comparison between optical simulation data and experimental results exhibits good agreement and proves process stability

Paper No S16.1: SVGA Bidirectional OLED Microdisplay for Near-to-Eye Projection

The bidirectional microdisplay approach combines organic light-emitting diode (OLED) image display and silicon complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor image sensing in a single chip. Its application in smart glasses might enable gaze-controlled interaction. This is to present a new bidirectional OLED microdisplay featuring super video graphics array resolution for both image display and acquisition

Highly Efficient White Top-Emitting Organic Light-Emitting Diodes Comprising Laminated Microlens Films

White top-emitting organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) attract much attention, as they are optically independent from the substrate used. While monochrome top-emitting OLEDs can be designed easily to have high-emission efficiency, white light emission faces obstacles. The commonly used thin metal layers as top electrodes turn the device into a microresonator having detrimental narrow and angular dependent emission characteristics. Here we report on a novel concept to improve the color quality and efficiency of white top-emitting OLEDs. We laminate a refractive index-matched microlens film on the top-emitting device. The microlens film acts both as outcoupling-enhancing film and an integrating element, mixing the optical modes to a broadband spectrum

Active-matrix OLED (AMOLED) microdisplay for augmented-reality applications with improved color space

Our contribution describes the optimization of OLED microdisplays to increase the color gamut and to reduce the OLED complexity. We show that these improvements can be reached by a 3-color RGB-white OLED approach that features a single layer multicolor emitting zone, respectively