Peter van de Weijer

Stability of polymer LEDs

Abstract Polymer LEDs have a number of attractive properties that make them suitable for many applications. Operating at low voltage, bright large-area devices can be made by simple technology. One of the limitations that prohibited industrialization of polymer LEDs was their limited lifetime. An overview of the improvement of polymer LED performance at Philips is presented. The progress during the last year is reflected by lifetimes of many thousands of hours for 8 cm2 devices that operate at daylight visibility under ambient conditions. Diagnostic measurements have been performed on polymer LEDs before and after stress testing, and on the materials used in these devices. These measurements have contributed to the understanding of the nature of the degradation of polymer LEDs.

Ink-jet printing of polymer light-emitting devices

Spin coating is a suitable technique for the fabrication of monochrome light-emitting polymer devices. For color displays, however, it is not the optimal solution when different polymers are applied. In principle, there are several technologies available for patterning light-emitting polymers. In this paper we discuss the advantages of drop-on-demand ink-jet printing over other printing methods. Special attention is given to some fundamental aspects of the printing process, such as drop formation and pixel filling. Examples of both monochrome and full color ink-jet printed passive matrix displays will be discussed.

Time-resolved emission from laser-ablated uranium

Time-resolved emission spectra from the plasma, induced by laser ablation of uranium samples have been studied. The dependence of the emission intensity on time is strongly affected by the nature and pressure of the buffer gas. Air and argon have been used in the pressure range 0.002 to 5 mbar. The emission intensity as a function of time displays three maxima, indicating that three different processes within the expanding plasma plume are involved. On basis of the time-resolved spectra we propose a model that explains qualitatively the phenomena that are responsible for this time behaviour.

Laser-induced fluorescence of OH and SiO molecules during thermal chemical vapour deposition of SiO2 from silane-oxygen mixtures

Abstract During low-pressure chemical vapour deposition of SiO 2 from thermally activated mixtures of silane and oxygen, laser-induced fluorescence is observed from OH and SiO molecules. From these measurements the rotational and vibrational temperatures are derived. The continuous nature of the observed oxygen chemiluminescence might be explained by a high vibrational temperature, which is not in equilibrium with the rotational temperature. Oxygen molecules are probably excited in the gas-phase reaction step SiO+O+O 2 →SiO 2 +O 2 * .

53.4: Ultra-Thin Flexible OLED Device

A new method of making ultra-thin flexible organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) using standard OLED fabrication facilities is reported. Through use of the Electronics on Plastic by Laser Release (EPLaR) technology, we have developed and demonstrated 18-μm thick single-pixel OLEDs. In this paper, besides describing the fabrication method, the electrical and optical performance of the flexible OLEDs is reported.

High efficiency polymer LEDs: triplets and novel devices

We present results and a discussion of highly efficient polymer Light-Emitting Diodes (polymer LEDs, PLEDs). The external quantum efficiency in current standard devices reaches up to 2-4% only. We have explored two routes to enhance this value. In the first route, PEDOT/PSS is replaced with a novel anode or hole injection layer. The efficiency with some Light Emitting Polymers (LEP) is improved significantly, resulting in an efficacy of 35 cd/A for a yellow emitting poly-(para-phenylene-vinylene) and 20 cd/A for a blue emitting poly-(spirobifluorene). We attribute the major improvement compared to standard devices, where about 10 and 5 cd/A are obtained, respectively, to a combination of improved exciton formation efficiency and light out-coupling efficiency, and to less quenching of the radiative decay under actual device operating conditions. In the second route, we developed a new host polymer with high triplet energy such that transition metal-based green-emitting phosphorescent dyes can be used without significant back transfer of triplet excitons to the polymer host. First results using this system showed about 25 cd/A using a soluble green Ir-based emitter. Importantly, all data are obtained in a standard two-layer device of a hole transport/injection layer and the LEP.

Chemiluminescence during thermal chemical vapour deposition of SiO2 from silane-oxygen mixtures

Abstract During low-pressure chemical vapour deposition of SiO 2 from a thermally activated mixture of silane and oxygen, chemiluminescence is observed. It consists of a broad band extending from the UV throughout the visible part of the spectrum and a smaller signal at 310 nm. These signals are ascribed to molecular oxygen and OH radicals, respectively. Evidence is presented that these species are excited in a gas-phase process, possibly the collision-induced gas-phase reaction step Si+O 2 +O 2 /OH→SiO 2 +O* 2 /OH*.

Technology and materials for full-color polymer light-emitting displays

The status of the development of full-color polymer light emitting diodes will be presented. The focus of current materials research is on state-of-the-art red, green, and blue light-emitting polymers (LEP) with high efficiency, optimum color points, low driving voltages and long lifetimes in devices. A general overview of the progress of red, green and blue LEP lifetimes and efficiencies will be given and compared to requirements for both full-color passive and active matrix-displays for mobile display applications. Further, the status of ink-jet printing of LEPs for the industrialization of full-color displays will be discussed, and a comparison of the performance of spin coated and inkjet printed devices will be presented. In addition, two material-related topics studied recently will be discussed; namely, the lifetime of blue light-emitting devices correlated to processing, anodes, cathodes and the blue polymers themselves, and second, the consequences of pulsed-driving schemes on efficiency and lifetime.

Thin Film Encapsulated Transparent Organic Light Emitting Diodes

Highly transparent OLEDs are very attractive for lighting and light beautification applications. While the transparent anode is based on transparent ITO, the transparent cathode is based on a 3-layer approach: (semi)transparent electron injection layer that is a low work function metal, electrically transparent conductor used in order to limit the voltage drop across the OLED area, and overcoat to tune the optical properties without influencing the electrical properties. Transparent encapsulation based on thin film technology is used in order to protect devices from ambient exposure. Using this approach large area (50 cm 2 ) transparent organic light-emitting device having 75% transparency in the off state is demonstrated. The efficiency of the transparent OLED is comparable with that of bottom emission OLED. It is demonstrated that by tuning the thickness and optical properties of both the cathode and the encapsulation the amount of light emitted through the anode and the cathode can be varied while the total amount of light emitted by the OLED remains the same. Moreover device optimization based on optical thin film calculations has been performed such that no angular dependence of emitted light is present both on anode and cathode side.

Status of red, green and blue light emitting polymers for passive matrix displays

An overview of the requirements for full color passive matrix displays and their implications for the light emitting materials will be presented. Using the performance of light emitting polymers tested in Philips devices the status of the light emitting polymers is reviewed. It will be shown that the performance of light emitting polymers is at the edge of being acceptable for practical applications. Red and green light emitting polymers can already be used for certain monochrome applications. However, for the high-resolution displays used in mobile telecom applications the efficacy for red and the lifetime for green are still somewhat low. Optimization routes for further improvement in terms of efficacies and lifetimes for red and green are identified. The peformance of blue light emitting polymers has rapidly improved over the last year, but the lifetime is still too short for full color applications. Improvement routes for the blue light emitting polymers and its device structure are outlined.