Byoung Har Hwang

Transparent organic light-emitting diodes consisting of a metal oxide multilayer cathode

The authors have developed a semitransparent, multilayered cathode of indium tin oxide (ITO)/Ag/tungsten oxide (WO3) for transparent organic light-emitting diodes. The device showed a weak negative differential resistance (NDR), until the operating voltage of 8V was reached. NDR was due to the resonant tunneling by both the quantum barrier and quantum well. The silver oxide (Ag2O) on the Ag metal was confirmed by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and the energy levels of Ag2O were quantized due to the quantum size effect and this produced the resonant tunneling channels. The device using ITO∕Ag∕WO3 with a LiF∕Al bilayer was superior to those devices which only used ITO or WO3, mainly because the out coupling was enhanced by employing a WO3 material, which is much more transparent than ITO.

Variable liquid crystal pretilt angles on various compositions of alignment layers

The authors introduce variable liquid crystal (LC) pretilt angles via ion beam (IB) irradiation of silicon carbide (SiC) layers of various compositions. To control the composition of the SiC layer, the authors altered the rf power ratio between the graphite target and silicon target. The pretilt angle of the silicon-rich SiC layer was constant regardless of IB irradiation angle; however, the carbon-rich SiC layer showed variable pretilt angles, depending on IB irradiation angle. The authors attribute variable pretilt angle to the competition between van der Waals interactions, favoring the vertical alignment, and pi-pi interactions, favoring the LC alignment parallel to IB direction.

Ion-beam induced liquid crystal alignment on diamond-like carbon and fluorinated diamond-like carbon thin films

Homogeneous and homeotropic orientations of nematic liquid crystal (NLC) are investigated on various inorganic thin films which are exposed to Ar ion-beam. It is the novel investigations which results in a completely dry processing technique for both the thin film deposition and alignment steps. In the case of homogenous alignment on diamond-like carbon (DLC) layer, optical band gap and the polar surface energy are investigated in order to elucidate the alignment mechanism by ion beam (IB) irradiation. We elucidate the role of surface polarity in DLC films with respect to the LC orientation. On the other hand, FDLC thin films are selected by homeotropic alignment layer with regard to the relationship between surface tension and LC orientation. Selected pretilt angles in the range of 71.1–89.8° can be easily obtained with ion beam irradiation. It is sensitively changed by thin films composition and the angle of ion beam irradiation.

No bias pi cell using a dual alignment layer with an intermediate pretilt angle

The authors fabricated a no-bias pi cell using a dual alignment layer with an intermediate pretilt angle via a rubbing. In the dual alignment layer system, the competition between crest region favoring the vertical alignment and trough region favoring planar alignment made it possible to achieve various pretilt angles, and adjusted pretilt angle from 90° to 20° with rubbing. In addition, as the intermediate pretilt angle plays a role in eliminating the activation energy and thus allowing formation of the initial bend state in pi cell fabrication, this approach achieved a no-bias pi cell for a liquid crystal display with both low power consumption and fast response.

Liquid crystal pretilt angle control using adjustable wetting properties of alignment layers

The authors demonstrate the production of amorphous fluorinated carbon (a-C:F) thin film with adjustable wetting properties, inducing variable liquid crystal (LC) pretilt angles. To control the surface wetting properties, they apply a dual radio frequency magnetron system with a controlled power ratio of targets. In this manner we obtain various compositional surfaces with fluorine and carbon components and adjust the surface energy with regard to the various compositions. Whereas the fluorine-rich a-C:F layer shows a preference for homeotropic (vertical) LC alignment, the carbon-rich a-C:F layer shows a planar LC alignment. To achieve uniform LC alignment with a proper pretilt angle, an accelerated Ar+ ion beam irradiates the films after the deposition process. The ion beam selectively destroys the surface bonding of the a-C:F films, yielding an intermediate pretilt angle.

Vertical Alignment of Liquid Crystals with Negative Dielectric Anisotropy on an Inorganic Thin Film with a Hydrophilic Surface

The vertical alignment of liquid crystals having negative dielectric anisotropy on an amorphous silicon oxide (a-SiO(x)) thin film is the consequence of the anisotropic interaction between liquid crystals and a-SiO(x) thin films. To investigate the mechanism of the vertical alignment, we changed the physicochemical characteristics of alignment layers by controlling the composition, since the anisotropic interaction depends on the nature of both liquid crystals and an alignment layer. The variation of composition gives rise to a change in the polarizability, which is a simple measure of induced-dipole strength at the surface of the alignment layer. There is a critical transition point from planar to vertical alignment of liquid crystals, and it is the long-range van der Waals interaction that is responsible for the vertical alignment. The competition between long-range van der Waals interaction and short-range dipolar interaction were investigated and analyzed in terms of the interfacial energy between liquid crystals and an alignment layer.

Polymeric tandem organic light-emitting diodes using a self-organized interfacial layer

The authors have demonstrated efficient polymeric tandem organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) with a self-organized interfacial layer, which was formed by differences in chemical surface energy. Hydrophilic poly(styrene sulfonate)-doped poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene) (PEDOT:PSS) was spin coated onto the hydrophobic poly(9,9-dyoctilfluorene) (PFO) surface and a PEDOT:PSS bubble or dome was built as an interfacial layer. The barrier heights of PEDOT:PSS and PFO in the two-unit tandem OLED induced a charge accumulation at the interface in the heterojunction and thereby created exciton recombination at a much higher level than in the one-unit reference. This effect was confirmed in both the hole only and the electron only devices.

Highly efficient organic light-emitting diodes with a quantum dot interfacial layer

Advanced organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), based on a multiple structure, were achieved in combination with a quantum dot (QD) interfacial layer. The authors used core/shell CdSe/ZnS QDs passivated with trioctylphosphine oxide (TOPO) and TOPO-free QDs as interlayers. Multiple-structure OLEDs (MOLEDs) with TOPO-free QDs showed higher device efficiency because of a well-defined interfacial monolayer formation. Additionally, the three-unit MOLED showed high performance for device efficiency with double-structured QD interfacial layers due to the enhanced charge balance and recombination probability.

Homogeneous liquid crystal alignment on inorganic–organic hybrid silica thin films derived by the sol–gel method

We developed an inorganic–organic hybrid thin film via the sol–gel method for a new liquid crystal alignment layer and investigated the influence of an organic species on the alignment characteristics of the liquid crystals (LCs). A thin film of methyl-doped amorphous silicon oxide (a-SiOx:CH3) was fabricated from the hydrolysis and condensation reaction of the initial precursors of methyltriethoxysilane (MTES) and tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) at a proper ratio. A low-energy ion beam (IB) treatment gives rise to the homogeneous alignment of LC in an IB condition on a-SiOx:CH3 thin film; however, it is difficult to control the LC alignment on a-SiOx thin film derived only from TEOS as a precursor. The LC alignment depending on the chemical structure of the silica thin film was investigated and analyzed in terms of the sensitivity of the axis-selective destruction of the chemical bonding on the surface of the thin silica film.

Delicate Modification of Poly(dimethylsiloxane) Ultrathin Film by Low-Energy Ion Beam Treatment for Durable Intermediate Liquid Crystal Pretilt Angles

Long-term stability of intermediate liquid crystal pretilt angles on a poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) ultrathin film grafted onto a surface was realized simply and easily via low-energy ion beam (IB) treatment. The composition and surface energy of the thin film could be controlled by varying the low-energy IB treatment. This treatment results in the permanent chemical modification of the film surface, converting it from organic PDMS to a mixed layer of organic PDMS and inorganic silica. The partial transformation of a PDMS surface gives rise to the control of the pretilt angle via the formation of the inhomogeneous surface and the stabilization of the pretilt angle via the cross-linking reaction of broken chemical bonds through IB irradiation. As a result, a continuous variation of pretilt angles that maintained their initial value with long-term stability was obtained. Thus, the unique chemical transformation of the PDMS surface using IB treatment may allow for the production of durable intermediate liquid crystal pretilt angles.