Kondakova, Marina | Engineering Papers

DOE OSTI2023

Improved Light Extraction in Organic Light‐Emitting Diodes via Semiconductor Dilution

Increasing the internal light extraction efficiency of organic light‐emitting diodes (OLEDs) is key to improving their performance for solid‐state lighting applications; however, it is challenging to do this in a way that is compatible with high volume manufacturing. Here, it is shown that the outcoupling efficiency of OLEDs can be improved by diluting their hole transport layer (HTL) with the low refractive index material trifluoropropyl oligomeric silsesquioxane (F‐POSS). Specifically, co‐evaporating 40 vol.% F‐POSS in the HTL of single and multi‐stack phosphorescent OLEDs decreases its refractive index by Δ n ≈ 0.2, which in turn yields a ≈12% increase in their outcoupling efficiency with no impact on electrical performance or operational lifetime. This result is significant because F‐POSS is a small molecule that sublimes cleanly, does not aggregate, and is compatible with state‐of‐the‐art HTL materials, making it a realistic path to increase light extraction in commercial OLEDs manufactured on existing production lines.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2023

Spectrally tunable stacked OLED

An OLED lighting device comprising: a blue light-emitting unit with a blue-light fluorescent, phosphorescent or TADF emitter; a yellow light-emitting electroluminescent unit comprising a green phosphorescent emitter, a red phosphorescent emitter and at least one non-emitting host; wherein the blue light-emitting unit and the yellow light-emitting unit are separated by a mixed interlayer with two non-emitting charge-carrier materials. Desirably, the yellow-light emitting unit essentially consists of a green phosphorescent emitter, a red phosphorescent emitter and a single non-emitting host. The mixed interlayer desirably has more than 50% of a hole-transporting material and an electron-transporting material. The Triplet Energy of both materials in the mixed interlayer can be higher than the Triplet Energies of the R and G phosphorescent dopants. The HOMOs of both materials in the mixed interlayer are more negative than the HOMO of the host in the yellow unit but less negative than the HOMO of the host in the blue unit. The LUMOs of the materials in the mixed interlayer can be more negative than the LUMO of the host in the yellow unit but less negative than the LUMO of the host in the blue unit. The OLED lighting device is spectrally tunable according to the supplied power.

Spindler, Jeffrey↗