Daekyoung Kim

Polyethylenimine Ethoxylated-Mediated All-Solution-Processed High-Performance Flexible Inverted Quantum Dot-Light-Emitting Device

We report on an all-solution-processed fabrication of highly efficient green quantum dot-light-emitting diodes (QLEDs) with an inverted architecture, where an interfacial polymeric surface modifier of polyethylenimine ethoxylated (PEIE) is inserted between a quantum dot (QD) emitting layer (EML) and a hole transport layer (HTL), and a MoOx hole injection layer is solution deposited on top of the HTL. Among the inverted QLEDs with varied PEIE thicknesses, the device with an optimal PEIE thickness of 15.5 nm shows record maximum efficiency values of 65.3 cd/A in current efficiency and 15.6% in external quantum efficiency (EQE). All-solution-processed fabrication of inverted QLED is further implemented on a flexible platform by developing a high-performing transparent conducting composite film of ZnO nanoparticles-overcoated on Ag nanowires. The resulting flexible inverted device possesses 35.1 cd/A in current efficiency and 8.4% in EQE, which are also the highest efficiency values ever reported in flexible QLEDs.

Tunable White Fluorescent Copper Gallium Sulfide Quantum Dots Enabled by Mn Doping

Fluorescence of semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) can be tuned by engineering the band gap via size and composition control and further doping them with impurity ions. Targeting on highly bright white-emissive I-III-VI -type copper gallium sulfide (Cu-Ga-S, CGS) host QDs with the entire visible spectral coverage of blue to red, herein, Mn(2+) ion doping, through surface adsorption and lattice diffusion is fulfilled. Upon doping a distinct Mn emission from (4)T1-(6)A1 transition successfully appears in white photoluminescence (PL) of undoped CGS/ZnS core/shell QDs and with varying Mn concentration a systematic white spectral evolution of CGS:Mn/ZnS QDs is achievable with high PL quantum yield retained. The origins of white PL of CGS:Mn/ZnS QDs that is well decomposed into three emission bands are appropriately assigned. The resulting single-phased, doped QDs are then employed as near-UV-to-white down converters for the fabrication of white light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Electroluminescent properties of white QD-LEDs depending on Mn concentration of CGS:Mn/ZnS QDs and forward current are also discussed in detail.

CdSe/ZnS quantum dot thin film formation by an electrospray deposition process for light-emitting devices.

About 30 nm quantum-dot thin films are formed by electrospray deposition (ESD) process and quantum-dot-light-emitting-diodes (QD-LEDs) are demonstrated. Maximum brightness of 23 000 cd m(-2) and current efficiency of 5.9 cd A(-1) are achieved with the ESD process. The ESD process can be a potential solution for large area quantum dot layers with simple and flexible control.

Hexamethyldisilazane-mediated, full-solution-processed inverted quantum dot-light-emitting diodes

Fabrication of a multilayered quantum dot-light-emitting diode (QLED) with an inverted architecture cannot be usually fully solution-processed mainly due to the significant destruction of the pre-existing quantum dot (QD) emitting layer (EML) occurring during the subsequent solution-deposition of the hole transport layer (HTL). To overcome this processing difficulty, we devise a simple approach of introducing hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS) to a QD dispersion to modify the surface of the QD film. In sharp contrast to the QD film without HMDS, the HMDS-mediated QD film maintains a high degree of QD integrity without any noticeable damage after HTL solution-processing. Two comparative inverted QLEDs based on original versus HMDS-mediated QDs are fabricated under the same full-solution processing conditions. A remarkable difference in device efficiency is indeed observed, specifically displaying maximum external quantum efficiencies of 2.32 and 11.6% for the former and latter devices, respectively, evidently indicating that our HMDS-mediated strategy is highly effective in well preserving the QD EML and thus achieving a full-solution processed efficient inverted QLED.

Improved electroluminescence of quantum dot light-emitting diodes enabled by a partial ligand exchange with benzenethiol.

In this study, benzenethiol ligands were applied to the surface of CdSe@ZnS core@shell quantum dots (QDs) and their effect on the performance of quantum dot light-emitting diodes (QD-LEDs) was investigated. Conventional long-chained oleic acid (OA) and trioctylphosphine (TOP) capping ligands were partially replaced by short-chained benzenethiol ligands in order to increase the stability of QDs during purification and also improve the electroluminescence performance of QD-LEDs. The quantum yield of the QD solution was increased from 41% to 84% by the benzenethiol ligand exchange. The mobility of the QD films with benzenethiol ligands approximately doubled to 2.42 × 10(-5) cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) from 1.19 × 10(-5) cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) compared to the device consisting of OA/TOP-capped QDs, and an approximately 1.8-fold improvement was achieved over QD-LEDs fabricated with bezenethiol ligand-exchanged QDs with respect to the maximum luminance and current efficiency. The turn-on voltage decreased by about -0.6 V through shifting the energy level of the QDs with benzenethiol ligands compared to conventional OA and TOP ligands.

Excellent stability of thicker shell CdSe@ZnS/ZnS quantum dots

Significant progresses made in the performance of quantum dot (QD) light-emitting diodes have often been associated with basic changes in QD synthesis, particularly with respect to composition and structure. Here we show that the absolute photoluminescence (PL) quantum yield (QY) of QD can reach 88% with a full width of 21 nm at half-maximum (FWHM) when an optimal thickness is chosen for the outer shell of alloyed, graded core/shell QDs. Thicker shell QD-LEDs with a maximum current efficiency of 56.6 cd A−1, an external quantum efficiency of 14.8%, and a brightness of 62 000 cd m−2 are demonstrated. Green emitting QDs of CdSe@ZnS/ZnS with this optimal thickness is also most resistant to photo-stimulated degradation by UV exposure. Only a 7% loss in PL intensity results even after more than 400 hours of exposure to harsh conditions of 85 °C and 85% relative humidity.

Optical and electrical properties of ZnO nanocrystal thin films passivated by atomic layer deposited Al2O3

While colloidal semiconductor nanocrystal (NC) is preferred for use in solution-based optoelectronic devices, the large number of surface defects associated with its high surface-to-volume ratio degrades the optimal performance of NC-based devices due to the extensive trapping of free carriers available for charge transport. Here, we studied a simple and effective strategy to control the degree of passivation and doping level of solution-deposited ZnO NC films by infilling with ultra-thin Al2O3 using an atomic layer deposition (ALD) technique. According to various spectroscopic, microstructural, and electrical analyses, the ALD-Al2O3 treatment dramatically reduced the number of surface trap states with high ambient stability while simultaneously supplied excess carriers probably via a remote doping mechanism. As a consequence, the field-effect transistors built using the ZnO NC films with ALD-Al2O3 treatment for an optimal number of cycles exhibited significantly enhanced charge transport.