Semi-Transparent, Pixel-Free Upconversion Goggles with Dual Audio-Visual Communication.

The intractable brittleness and opacity of the crystalline semiconductor restrict the prospect of developing low-cost imaging systems. Here, infrared visualization technologies are established with large-area, semi-transparent organic upconversion devices that bring high-resolution invisible images into sight without photolithography. To exploit all photoinduced charge carriers, a monolithic device structure is proposed built on the infrared-selective, single-component charge generation layer of chloroaluminum phthalocyanine (ClAlPc) coupled to two visible light-emitting layers manipulated with unipolar charges. Transient pump-probe spectroscopy reveals that the ClAlPc-based device exhibits an efficient charge dissociation process under forward bias. This process is indicated by the prompt and strong features of electroabsorption screening. Furthermore, by imposing the electric field, the ultrafast excited state dynamic suggests a prolonged charge carrier lifetime from the ClAlPc, which facilitates the charge utilization for upconversion luminance. For the first time, >30% of the infrared photons are utilized without photomultiplication strategies owing to the trivial spectrum overlap between ClAlPc and the emitter. In addition, the device can broadcast the acoustic signal by synchronizing the device frequency with the light source, which enables to operate it in dual audio-visual mode. The work demonstrates the potential of upconversion devices for affordable infrared imaging in wearable electronics.

Transparent organic upconversion devices displaying high-resolution, single-pixel, low-power infrared images perceived by human vision.

Crystalline photodiodes remain the most viable infrared sensing technology of choice, yet the opacity and the limitation in pixel size reduction per se restrict their development for supporting high-resolution in situ infrared images. In this work, we propose an all-organic non-fullerene-based upconversion device that brings invisible infrared signal into human vision via exciplex cohost light-emissive system. The device reaches an infrared-to-visible upconversion efficiency of 12.56% by resolving the 940-nm infrared signal (power density of 103.8 µW cm-2). We tailor a semitransparent (AVT, ~60%), large-area (10.35 cm2), lightweight (22.91 g), single-pixel upconversion panel to visualize the infrared power density down to 0.75 µW cm2, inferring a bias-switching linear dynamic range approaching 80 dB. We also demonstrate the possibility of visualizing low-intensity infrared signals from the Face ID and LiDAR, which should fill the gap in the existing technology based on pixelated complementary metal-oxide semiconductors with optical lenses.

Achieving a Highly Stable Perovskite Photodetector with a Long Lifetime Fabricated via an All-Vacuum Deposition Process.

Hybrid organic-inorganic metal halide perovskites (HOIP) have become a promising visible light sensing material due to their excellent optoelectronic characteristics. Despite the superiority, overcoming the stability issue for commercialization remains a challenge. Herein, an extremely stable photodetector was demonstrated and fabricated with Cs0.06FA0.94Pb(I0.68Br0.32)3 perovskite by an all-vacuum process. The photodetector achieves a current density up to 1.793 × 10-2 A cm-2 under standard one sun solar illumination while maintaining a current density as low as 8.627 × 10-10 A cm-2 at zero bias voltage. The linear dynamic range (LDR) and transient voltage response were found to be comparable to the silicon-based photodetector (Newport 818-SL). Most importantly, the device maintains 95% of the initial performance after 960 h of incessant exposure under one sun solar illumination. The achievements of these outstanding results contributed to the all-vacuum deposition process delivering a film with high stability and good uniformity, which in turn delays the degradation process. The degradation mechanism is further investigated by impedance spectroscopy to reveal the charge dynamics in the photodetector under different exposure times.

Versatile Exciplex-Forming Co-Host for Improving Efficiency and Lifetime of Fluorescent and Phosphorescent Organic Light-Emitting Diodes.

We report a new efficient exciplex-forming system consisting of a biscarbazole donor and a triazine-based acceptor. The new exciplex was characterized with a high photoluminescence quantum yield up to 68% and effective thermally activated delayed fluorescence behavior. The BCzPh:3P-T2T (2:1, 30 nm) blend was examined not only as an emitting layer (device D1) but also a reliable co-host of fluorescent and phosphorescent emitters for giving highly efficient exciplex-based organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) with a high maximum external quantum efficiency of 15.5 and 29.7% for devices doped with 1 wt % C545T (device D2) and 8 wt % Ir(ppy)2(acac) (device D4), respectively. More strikingly, a strongly enhanced lifetime ( T75 = 16 927 min.) of the C545T-doped device was obtained. The transient electroluminescence measurement as well as capacitance-voltage and impedance-voltage correlations were utilized to explore the factors governing the high efficiency and stability. The obtained results clearly show that the energy transfer and charge transport is highly efficient; they also show the photoelectric semiconducting characteristics of exciplex-based OLEDs, which are significantly different from those of unipolar host-based reference devices D3 (Alq3: 1 wt % C545T) and D5 (CBP: 8 wt % Ir(ppy)2(acac)). Our works have established a systematic protocol to shed light on the mechanisms behind exciplex-based devices. The combined results also confirm the bright prospect of the exciplex-forming system as the co-host for highly efficient and stable OLEDs.

Exciplex-Forming Cohost for High Efficiency and High Stability Phosphorescent Organic Light-Emitting Diodes.

An exciplex forming cohost system is employed to achieve a highly efficient organic light-emitting diode (OLED) with good electroluminescent lifetime. The exciplex is formed at the interfacial contact of a conventional star-shaped carbazole hole-transporting material, 4,4',4″-tris(N-carbazolyl)-triphenylamine (TCTA), and a triazine electron-transporting material, 2,4,6-tris[3-(1H-pyrazol-1-yl)phenyl]-1,3,5-triazine (3P-T2T). The excellent combination of TCTA and 3P-T2T is applied as the cohost of a common green phosphorescent emitter with almost zero energy loss. When Ir(ppy)2(acac) is dispersed in such exciplex cohost system, OLED device with maximum external quantum efficiency of 29.6%, the ultrahigh power efficiency of 147.3 lm/W, and current efficiency of 107 cd/A were successfully achieved. More importantly, the OLED device showed a low-efficiency roll-off and an operational lifetime (τ80) of ∼1020 min with the initial brightness of 2000 cd/m2, which is 56 times longer than the reference device. The significant difference of device stability was attributed to the degradation of exciplex system for energy transfer process, which was investigated by the photoluminescence aging measurement at room temperature and 100 K, respectively.