Man-Keung Fung

Aluminum-doped zinc oxide films as transparent conductive electrode for organic light-emitting devices

Highly transparent conductive, aluminum-doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Al) films were deposited on glass substrates by midfrequency magnetron sputtering of metallic aluminum-doped zinc target. ZnO:Al films with surface work functions between 3.7 and 4.4 eV were obtained by varying the sputtering conditions. Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) were fabricated on these ZnO:Al films. A current efficiency of higher than 3.7 cd/A, was achieved. For comparison, 3.9 cd/A was achieved by the reference OLEDs fabricated on commercial indium–tin–oxide substrates.

Management of Singlet and Triplet Excitons in a Single Emission Layer: A Simple Approach for a High‐Efficiency Fluorescence/Phosphorescence Hybrid White Organic Light‐Emitting Device

A high-efficiency single-emission-layer (EML) hybrid white organic light emitting device is fabricated based on an ideal sky-blue fluorophor, DADBT, using a novel doping concentration regulation strategy, which effectively separates and respectively utilizes the singlet and triplet excitons in the single-EML. The white device shows excellent electroluminescence performance with maximum total efficiencies of 26.6%, 53.5 cd A(-1) and 67.2 lm W(-1) .

Novel Efficient Blue Fluorophors with Small Singlet‐Triplet Splitting: Hosts for Highly Efficient Fluorescence and Phosphorescence Hybrid WOLEDs with Simplified Structure

The exact hosts for F-P hybrid WOLEDs have been first demonstrated following a new design strategy for blue fluorophors with small singlet-triplet splitting. Two novel compounds DPMC and DAPSF exhibit efficient blue fluorescence, high triplet energies and good conductivities. These merits allow us to use new simplified device designs to achieve high efficiency, slow efficiency roll-off and stable emission color.

Multifunctional electron-transporting indolizine derivatives for highly efficient blue fluorescence, orange phosphorescence host and two-color based white OLEDs

In this work, derivatives of indolizine are first used as electron-transporting host materials for hybrid fluorescence/phosphorescence white organic light-emitting devices (F/P-WOLED). Of the indolizine derivatives, a blue fluorescent material BPPI (3-(4,4′-biphenyl)-2-diphenylindolizine) was found to have: (1) blue emission with high quantum yields, (2) good morphological and thermal stabilities, (3) electron-transporting properties, and (4) a sufficiently high triplet energy level to act as a host for red or yellow-orange phosphorescent dopants. The multifunctional BPPI enables adaptation of several simplified device configurations. For example, a non-doped blue fluorescent device exhibits good performance with an external quantum efficiency of 3.16% and Commission Internationale de lEclairage coordinates of (0.15, 0.07). A high-performance orange phosphorescent device was found to have a high current efficiency of 23.9 cd A−1. Using BPPI, we also demonstrate a F/P-WOLED with a simplified structure, stable emissions and respectable performance (current and external quantum efficiencies of 17.8 cd A−1 and 10.7%, respectively).

Effective organic-based connection unit for stacked organic light-emitting devices

A bilayer connection unit of Mg-doped Alq3 and F4-TCNQ-doped m-MTDATA was investigated for application in stacked organic light-emitting device. This connection unit led to a stacked OLED with a luminous efficiency twice that of a single-unit OLED. Electronic structures, including relevant electron energy levels, of the various interfaces in the stacked OLED were studied by using ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy and used to discuss the working mechanisms of the stacked OLED. The p-type dopant F4-TCNQ was shown to induce a large band bending of 1.36eV and facilitates efficient carrier injection from the connection units into the carrier-transporting layers.

EFFECT OF NITROGEN INCORPORATION INTO DIAMOND-LIKE CARBON FILMS BY ECR-CVD

Abstract Diamond-like carbon (DLC) and nitrogenated DLC (a-C:N) films were prepared on Si and glass substrates using an electron cyclotron resonance-assisted microwave plasma chemical vapour deposition (ECR-MPCVD) system with radio frequency substrate bias. The hardness and optical bandgap of the resulting films were investigated and correlated to the elemental and phase composition. The a-C:N films, deposited under conditions identical to those for the DLC films except for the introduction of a nitrogen flow, contain nitrogen which partly substitutes for hydrogen and forms carbon–nitrogen triple bonds. These bonds obstruct the formation of carbon–carbon cross-linking, resulting in softer films. These changes can be interpreted with reference to various changes of active vibronic states determined by Raman spectroscopy.

Interface studies of intermediate connectors and their roles in tandem OLEDs

Understanding the physical properties of the intermediate connectors in tandem organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) is not only important fundamentally, but also crucial to developing high-efficiency tandem organic (opto)electronic devices. Here, the working mechanisms of several effective intermediate connectors in tandem OLEDs using doped or non-doped organic p-n heterojunctions have been systematically investigated by studying the corresponding interfaces and devices. The physical insights provide guidance for identification of new materials and device architectures for high-performance devices.

Anode modification of polyfluorene-based polymer light-emitting devices

A glycerol-modified poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene) (PEDOT): poly(styrene sulfonate) (PSS) layer was used as an anode buffer layer in polymer light-emitting devices using poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene) (F8) as the emitter. Devices with a configuration of indium tin oxide/PEDOT:PSS (with or without glycerol)/F8/CsF/Al were fabricated. It was found that the glycerol-modified device showed a much larger current density than the unmodified device. At an operating voltage of 6 V, the glycerol-modified device showed a luminance of 1300u2009Cd/m2 and a current efficiency of 1.7 Cd/A compared to the corresponding values of 500u2009Cd/m2 and 1.3 Cd/A in the unmodified device. Analysis by ultraviolet spectroscopy suggests that the two devices have the same energy level structure and the performance improvement should not be due to change in the PEDOT/polymer interface. It was further found that incorporating a suitable amount of glycerol into the PEDOT:PSS layer can increase its conductivity by six times. This leads to a bett...

Charge-Transfer Complexes and Their Role in Exciplex Emission and Near-Infrared Photovoltaics

Charge transfer and interactions at organic heterojunctions (OHJs) are known to have critical influences on various properties of organic electronic devices. In this Research News article, a short review is given from the electronic viewpoint on how the local molecular interactions and interfacial energetics at P/N OHJs contribute to the recombination/dissociation of electron-hole pairs. Very often, the P-type materials donate electrons to the N-type materials, giving rise to charge-transfer complexes (CTCs) with a P(δ+) -N(δ-) configuration. A recently observed opposite charge-transfer direction in OHJs is also discussed (i.e., N-type material donates electrons to P-type material to form P(δ-) -N(δ+) ). Recent studies on the electronic structures of CTC-forming material pairs are also summarized. The formation of P(δ-) -N(δ+) -type CTCs and their correlations with exciplex emission are examined. Furthermore, the potential applications of CTCs in NIR photovoltaic devices are reviewed.

Charge generation layer in stacked organic light-emitting devices

Three types of organic-based connection units were examined for use in stacked or tandem organic light-emitting devices, which include (i) Mg-doped tris(8-hydrooxyquinoline) aluminum(III) (Alq3)∕4,4′,4″-tris{N,-(3-methylphenyl)-N-phenylamino}-triphenylamine (m-MTDATA), (ii) Alq3/tetrafluorotetracyanoquinodimethane (F4-TCNQ)-doped m-MTDATA, and (iii) Mg-doped Alq3/F4-TCNQ-doped m-MTDATA. Device (iii) shows the highest current efficiency and the differences in device performance can be correlated with the electronic structure of the connection unit and its interface with the neighboring active layers. The working mechanisms of the connection-unit works are discussed in terms of band bending and charge carrier density. The electronic structures of the interface between layers in a connection unit are of particular importance to the device performance. Dopings of Mg in Alq3 and F4-TCNQ in m-MTDATA led to bipolar heterojunction. Removal of either the n-type or the p-type dopants suppresses the band bending and...