Jan B. Preinfalk

White organic light emitting diodes with enhanced internal and external outcoupling for ultra-efficient light extraction and Lambertian emission

White organic light emitting diodes (WOLEDs) suffer from poor outcoupling efficiencies. The use of Bragg-gratings to enhance the outcoupling efficiency is very promising for light extraction in OLEDs, but such periodic structures can lead to angular or spectral dependencies in the devices. Here we present a method which combines highly efficient outcoupling by a TiO(2)-Bragg-grating leading to a 104% efficiency enhancement and an additional high quality microlens diffusor at the substrate/air interface. With the addition of this diffusor, we achieved not only a uniform white emission, but also further increased the already improved device efficiency by another 94% leading to an overall enhancement factor of about 4.

Bioinspired Superhydrophobic Highly Transmissive Films for Optical Applications

Inspired by the transparent hair layer on water plants Salvinia and Pistia, superhydrophobic flexible thin films, applicable as transparent coatings for optoelectronic devices, are introduced. Thin polymeric nanofur films are fabricated using a highly scalable hot pulling technique, in which heated sandblasted steel plates are used to create a dense layer of nano- and microhairs surrounding microcavities on a polymer surface. The superhydrophobic nanofur surface exhibits water contact angles of 166 ± 6°, sliding angles below 6°, and is self-cleaning against various contaminants. Additionally, subjecting thin nanofur to argon plasma reverses its surface wettability to hydrophilic and underwater superoleophobic. Thin nanofur films are transparent and demonstrate reflection values of less than 4% for wavelengths ranging from 300 to 800 nm when attached to a polymer substrate. Moreover, used as translucent self-standing film, the nanofur exhibits transmission values above 85% and high forward scattering. The potential of thin nanofur films for extracting substrate modes from organic light emitting diodes is tested and a relative increase of the luminous efficacy of above 10% is observed. Finally, thin nanofur is optically coupled to a multicrystalline silicon solar cell, resulting in a relative gain of 5.8% in photogenerated current compared to a bare photovoltaic device.

Photon management in solution-processed organic light-emitting diodes: a review of light outcoupling micro- and nanostructures

Abstract. To allow a greater acceptance in the display and lighting markets, organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology is currently the subject of intensive research efforts aimed at manufacturing cost-effective devices with higher efficiencies. In this regard, strategies matured in the field of photonics and nanophotonics can be applied for photon management purposes to improve the outcoupling of the generated light and to control the emission pattern. In this review, we report on the recent experimental and numerical advances to pursue those goals by highlighting the example of bottom-emitting devices. The cases of periodical micro- and nanostructures, as well as of stochastic ensembles that can be easily implemented using printing techniques, are covered herein. It is shown that beyond the sole optical properties, such additional elements can simultaneously improve the electrical characteristics of solution-processed OLEDs, and thus enable an optimization of the devices at different levels.

Tuning the Microcavity of Organic Light Emitting Diodes by Solution Processable Polymer–Nanoparticle Composite Layers

In this study, we present a simple method to tune and take advantage of microcavity effects for an increased fraction of outcoupled light in solution-processed organic light emitting diodes. This is achieved by incorporating nonscattering polymer-nanoparticle composite layers. These tunable layers allow the optimization of the device architecture even for high film thicknesses on a single substrate by gradually altering the film thickness using a horizontal dipping technique. Moreover, it is shown that the optoelectronic device parameters are in good agreement with transfer matrix simulations of the corresponding layer stack, which offers the possibility to numerically design devices based on such composite layers. Lastly, it could be shown that the introduction of nanoparticles leads to an improved charge injection, which combined with an optimized microcavity resulted in a maximum luminous efficacy increase of 85% compared to a nanoparticle-free reference device.

Development and characterization of high refractive index and high scattering acrylate polymer layers

The aim is to develop a polymer layer which has the ability to diffuse light homogeneously and exhibit a high refractive index. The mixtures are containing an acrylate casting resin, benzylmethacrylate, phenanthrene and other additives. Phenanthrene is employed to increase the refractive index. The mixtures are first rheologically characterized and then polymerized with heat and UV radiation. For the refractive index measurements the polymerized samples require a planar surface without air bubbles. To produce flat samples a special construction consisting of a glass plate, a teflon sheet, a silicone ring (PDMS mold), another teflon sheet and another glass plate is developed. Glue clamps are used to fix this construction together. Selected samples have a refractive index of 1.585 at 20°C at a wavelength of 589nm. A master mixture with a high refractive index is taken for further experiments. Nano scaled titanium dioxide is added and dispersed into the master mixture and then spin coated on a glass substrate. These layers are optically characterized. The specular transmission and the overall transmission are measured to investigate the degree of scattering, which is defined as the haze. Most of the presented layers express the expected haze of over 50%.

Development and characterization of adjustable refractive index scattering epoxy acrylate polymer layers

This work presents different polymer diffusing films for optical components. In optical applications it is sometimes important to have a film with an adjusted refractive index, scattering properties and a low surface roughness. These diffusing films can be used to increase the efficiency of optical components like organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs). In this study three different epoxy acrylate mixtures containing Syntholux 291 EA, bisphenol a glycerolate dimethacrylate, Sartomer SR 348 L are characterized and optimized with different additives. The adjustable refractive index of the material is achieved with a chemical doping by 9-vinylcarbazole. Titanium nanoparticles in the mixtures generate light scattering and increase the refractive index additionally. To prevent sedimentation and agglomeration of these nanoparticles, a stabilization agent [2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethoxy]acetic acid is added to the mixture. Other ingredients are a UV-starter and thermal starter for the radical polymerization. A high power stirrer (ultraturrax) is used to mix and disperse all chemical substances together to a homogenous mixture. The viscosity behavior of the mixtures is an important property for the selection of the production method and gets characterized. After the mixing, the monomer mixture is applied on glass substrates by blade coating or screen printing. To initiate the chain growing (polymerization) the produced films are irradiated for 10 minutes long with UV light (UV LED Spot Hönle, 405 nm). After this step a final post bake from the layers in the oven (150°C, 30 min.) is operated. Light transmission measurements (UV-Vis) of the polymer matrix and roughness measurements complement the characterization.

Novel nano- and micro-textures for highly efficient outcoupling in white organic light emitting diodes

We demonstrate two approaches to significantly enhance the outcoupling in organic light emitting diodes. Nanostructures in combination with a microlens array or spherical texturing lead to efficiency enhancement factors of ~4 and ~3.7, respectively.

Biomimetic hairy surfaces as superhydrophobic highly transmissive films for optical applications (Conference Presentation)

Combining high optical transmission, water-repellency and self-cleaning is of great interest for optoelectronic devices operating in outdoor conditions, such as photovoltaics where shading can significantly reduce the power output. The surface of water plant Pistia stratiotes combines these functionalities through a dense layer of transparent microhairs. It renders the surface superhydrophobic without affecting absorption of sunlight necessary for photosynthesis. Inspired by this surface, we fabricated a superhydrophobic flexible thin nanofur film made from optical grade polycarbonate using a scalable combination of hot embossing and hot pulling techniques. During fabrication, heated sandblasted steel plates locally elongate softened polymer, thus covering its surface in microcavities surrounded by high aspect ratio micro- and nanohairs. The superhydrophobic nanofur exhibits contact angles of (166±6°), low sliding angles (<6°) and is self-cleaning against various contaminants. The overall transmission of the self-standing nanofur film stands above 85% over the visible range, with 97% of the transmitted light scattered forward. Reflection drops below 4% when coated on a polymeric substrate, which can enhance light extraction in organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs). We report an increase of more than 10% in luminous efficacy for a nanofur coated OLED compared to a bare device. Finally, the nanofur film can be used for enhancing the incoupling of light to solar cells, while additionally providing self-cleaning properties. Optical coupling of the nanofur to a multi-crystalline silicon solar cell results in a 5.8% gain in photocurrent compared to a bare device under normal incidence.

On the fabrication of disordered nanostructures for light extraction in corrugated OLEDs

Light scattering OLED substrates relying on disordered self-assemblies are fabricated by microsphere and polymer blend lithography and used for light extraction. We report on a device efficiency enhancement of up to 50 %.

Accurate Modeling of Outcoupling from OLEDs: Volumetric versus Flat Internal Scattering Layers

We use the T-matrix formalism to compute light outcoupling through disordered internal scattering layers in OLEDs. The method can be used for particle-based volumetric scattering layers and for flat photonic layers based on nano-cylinders.