Thilo Reusch

Extraction of surface plasmons in organic light-emitting diodes via high-index coupling

The efficiency of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) is still limited by poor light outcoupling. In particular, the excitation of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) at metal-organic interfaces represents a major loss channel. By combining optical simulations and experiments on simplified luminescent thin-film structures we elaborate the conditions for the extraction of SPPs via coupling to high-index media. As a proof-of-concept, we demonstrate the possibility to extract light from wave-guided modes and surface plasmons in a top-emitting white OLED by a high-index prism.

Highly stable charge generation layers using caesium phosphate as n-dopants and inserting interlayers

Highly stable and efficient charge generation layers (CGLs) comprising caesium phosphate (Cs3PO4) doped 2,9-dimethyl-4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline (BCP) as n-type organic semiconductor and molybdenum trioxide (MoO3) doped N,N′-di-(naphthalen-1-yl)-N,N′-diphenyl-benzidine (α-NPD) as p-type organic semiconductor, respectively, are presented. By inserting narrow-gap organic copper-phthalocyanine (CuPc) and wide-gap insulating aluminum oxide (Al2O3) as interlayer (IL), we show that the long-term stability of the CGL can be improved. The variation of the CuPc IL thickness yields an optimum of 8 nm as a trade-off between minimal operating voltage and maximum voltage stability of the CGL. Luminance-current density-voltage characteristics and lifetime measurements of stacked green organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) confirm the functionality and high voltage stability of the presented CGL. The luminous efficacy of the stacked OLED compared to the non-stacked reference device is nearly unchanged. However, the...

Investigation of energy transfer mechanisms between two adjacent phosphorescent emission layers

The investigation of energy transfer mechanisms between two adjacent phosphorescent emission layers comprising the green emitter molecule fac-tris(2-phenly-pyridin)iridium (Ir(ppy)3) and the red emitter molecule iridium(III)bis(2-methyldibenzo[f,h]quinoxaline(acetylacetonate) (Ir(MDQ)2(acac)) is presented. We show that the performance can be enhanced by a variation of the emission layer thickness and the emitter concentration. By inserting different interlayer materials between the emission units, we demonstrate that triplet excitons are formed on the Ir(ppy)3 and subsequently transferred to the Ir(MDQ)2(acac) molecules via the hole transporting host material N,N′-bis(naphthalen-1-yl)-N,N′-bis(phenyl)-benzidine of the red emission layer. The variation of the interlayer thickness shows that the triplet diffusion length is several tens of nanometers. After optimization of the guest-host system an efficiency enhancement by 15% was achieved and the lifetime of the red-green emissive unit could be enhanced by ...

Extracting the emitter orientation in organic light-emitting diodes from external quantum efficiency measurements

Emitter orientation will play a major role in future applications of organic light-emitting diodes due to its strong impact on the efficiency of the devices. Up to now, determining the orientation of transition dipole moments required elaborate angular-dependent measurements of the light emission pattern. In this paper, we present a simplified and straightforward method to extract the emitter orientation from external quantum efficiency measurements. We demonstrate the validity of the method on three different dye-doped emitting systems.

Comprehensive efficiency analysis of organic light-emitting diodes featuring emitter orientation and triplet-to-singlet up-conversion

We present a method to achieve a consistent, comprehensive efficiency analysis of fluorescent organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) showing non-isotropic emitter orientation and triplet-to-singlet up-conversion. Combining photoluminescence lifetime and external quantum efficiency measurements on OLEDs with varying cavity length allows for an independent determination of the radiative emitter efficiency under optical as well as electrical excitation. The difference clearly shows a significant enhancement of the singlet exciton fraction to more than 25% under electrical operation. Furthermore, the presented method does not require detailed information about the emitting system and is generally applicable for a comprehensive efficiency analysis of bottom-emitting OLEDs.

Flexible top-emitting OLEDs for lighting: bending limits

Flexible OLED light sources have great appeal due to new design options, being unbreakable and their low weight. Top-emitting OLED device architectures offer the broadest choice of substrate materials including metals which are robust, impermeable to humidity, and good thermal conductors making them promising candidates for flexible OLED device substrates. In this study, we investigate the bending limits of flexible top-emitting OLED lighting devices with transparent metal electrode and thin film encapsulation on a variety of both metal and plastic foils. The samples were subjected to concave and convex bending and inspected by different testing methods for the onset of breakdown for example visible defects and encapsulation failures. The critical failure modes were identified as rupture of the transparent thin metal top electrode and encapsulation for convex bending and buckling of the transparent metal top electrode for concave bending. We investigated influences from substrate material and thickness and top coating thickness. The substrate thickness is found to dominate bending limits as expected by neutral layer modeling. Coating shows strong improvements for all substrates. Bending radii <15mm are achieved for both convex and concave testing without damage to devices including their encapsulation.

OLED emission zone measurement with high accuracy

Highly efficient state of the art organic light-emitting diodes (OLED) comprise thin emitting layers with thicknesses in the order of 10 nm. The spatial distribution of the photon generation rate, i.e. the profile of the emission zone, inside these layers is of interest for both device efficiency analysis and characterization of charge recombination processes. It can be accessed experimentally by reverse simulation of far-field emission pattern measurements. Such a far-field pattern is the sum of individual emission patterns associated with the corresponding positions inside the active layer. Based on rigorous electromagnetic theory the relation between far-field pattern and emission zone is modeled as a linear problem. This enables a mathematical analysis to be applied to the cases of single and double emitting layers in the OLED stack as well as to pattern measurements in air or inside the substrate. From the results, guidelines for optimum emitter – cathode separation and for selecting the best experimental approach are obtained. Limits for the maximum spatial resolution can be derived.