Luminance enhancement of top-emitting blue organic light emitting diodes encapsulated with silicon nitride thin films by a double-layer nano-structure.

Even though it is in high demand to introduce a nano-structure (NS) light extraction technology on a silicon nitride to be used as a thin film encapsulation material for an organic light-emitting diode (OLED), only an industry-incompatible wet method has been reported. This work demonstrates a double-layer NS fabrication on the silicon nitride using a two-step organic vapor phase deposition (OVPD) of an industry-compatible dry process. The NS showed a wrinkle-like shape caused by coalescence of the nano-lenses. The NS integrated top-emitting OLED revealed 40 percent enhancement of current efficiency and improvement of the luminance distribution and color change according to viewing angle.

Optical Analysis of Power Distribution in Top-Emitting Organic Light Emitting Diodes Integrated with Nanolens Array Using Finite Difference Time Domain.

Recently, we have addressed that a formation mechanism of a nanolens array (NLA) fabricated by using a maskless vacuum deposition is explained as the increase in surface tension of organic molecules induced by their crystallization. Here, as another research using finite difference time domain simulations, not electric field intensities but transmitted energies of electromagnetic waves inside and outside top-emitting blue organic light-emitting diodes (TOLEDs), without and with NLAs, are obtained, to easily grasp the effect of NLA formation on the light extraction of TOLEDs. Interestingly, the calculations show that NLA acts as an efficient light extraction structure. With NLA, larger transmitted energies in the direction from emitting layer to air are observed, indicating that NLAs send more light to air otherwise trapped in the devices by reducing the losses by waveguide and absorption. This is more significant for higher refractive index of NLA. Simulation and measurement results are consistent. A successful increase in both light extraction efficiency and color stability of blue TOLEDs, rarely reported before, is accomplished by introducing the highly process-compatible NLA technology using the one-step dry process. Blue TOLEDs integrated with a N, N'-di(1-naphthyl)- N, N'-diphenyl-(1,1'-biphenyl)-4,4'-diamine NLA with a refractive index of 1.8 show a 1.55-times-higher light extraction efficiency, compared to those without it. In addition, viewing angle characteristics are enhanced and image blurring is reduced, indicating that the manufacturer-adaptable technology satisfies the requirements of highly efficient and color-stable top-emission displays.

Overcoming the efficiency limit of organic light-emitting diodes using ultra-thin and transparent graphene electrodes.

We propose an effective way to enhance the out-coupling efficiencies of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) using graphene as a transparent electrode. In this study, we investigated the detrimental adsorption and internal optics occurring in OLEDs with graphene anodes. The optical out-coupling efficiencies of previous OLEDs with transparent graphene electrodes barely exceeded those of OLEDs with conventional transparent electrodes because of the weak microcavity effect. To overcome this issue, we introduced an internal random scattering layer for light extraction and reduced the optical absorption of the graphene by reducing the number of layers in the multilayered graphene film. The efficiencies of the graphene-OLEDs increased significantly with decreasing the number of graphene layers, strongly indicating absorption reduction. The maximum light extraction efficiency was obtained by using a single-layer graphene electrode together with a scattering layer. As a result, a widened angular luminance distribution with a remarkable external quantum efficiency and a luminous efficacy enhancement of 52.8% and 48.5%, respectively, was achieved. Our approach provides a demonstration of graphene-OLED having a performance comparable to that of conventional OLEDs.

Effect of cationic groups in poly(arylene ether sulfone) membranes on reverse electrodialysis performance.

In this work, three functional groups were introduced in poly(arylene ether sulfone) membranes to investigate the effects of cationic functional groups in the membranes on reverse electrodialysis performance. Our results showed that controlling the swelling behaviour of the membranes was an important factor for increasing the permselectivity while maintaining their high conductivity.

Crystallization-assisted nano-lens array fabrication for highly efficient and color stable organic light emitting diodes.

To date, all deposition equipment has been developed to produce planar films. Thus lens arrays with a lens diameter of <1 mm have been manufactured by combining deposition with other technologies, such as masks, surface treatment, molding etc. Furthermore, a nano-lens array (NLA) with a sufficiently small lens diameter (<1 µm) is necessary to avoid image quality degradation in high resolution displays. In this study, an organic NLA made using a conventional deposition technique - without combining with other techniques - is reported. Very interestingly, grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering (GI-SAXS) experiments indicate that the NLA is formed by the crystallization of organic molecules and the resulting increase in surface tension. The lens diameter can be tuned for use with any kind of light by controlling the process parameters. As an example of their potential applications, we use NLAs as a light extraction film for organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs). The NLA is integrated by directly depositing it on the top electrode of a collection of OLEDs. This is a dry process, meaning that it is fully compatible with the current OLED production process. Devices with NLAs exhibited a light extraction efficiency 1.5 times higher than devices without, which corresponds well with simulation results. The simulations show that this high efficiency is due to the reduction of the guided modes by scattering at the NLA. The NLAs also reduce image blurring, indicating that they increase color stability.

A Light Scattering Layer for Internal Light Extraction of Organic Light-Emitting Diodes Based on Silver Nanowires.

We propose and fabricate a random light scattering layer for light extraction in organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) with silver nanodots, which were obtained by melting silver nanowires. The OLED with the light scattering layer as an internal light extraction structure was enhanced by 49.1% for the integrated external quantum efficiency (EQE). When a wrinkle structure is simultaneously used for an external light extraction structure, the total enhancement of the integrated EQE was 65.3%. The EQE is maximized to 65.3% at a current level of 2.0 mA/cm(2). By applying an internal light scattering layer and wrinkle structure to an OLED, the variance in the emission spectra was negligible over a broad viewing angle. Power mode analyses with finite difference time domain (FDTD) simulations revealed that the use of a scattering layer effectively reduced the waveguiding mode while introducing non-negligible absorption. Our method offers an effective yet simple approach to achieve both efficiency enhancement and spectral stability for a wide range of OLED applications.

Nanocrack-regulated self-humidifying membranes.

The regulation of water content in polymeric membranes is important in a number of applications, such as reverse electrodialysis and proton-exchange fuel-cell membranes. External thermal and water management systems add both mass and size to systems, and so intrinsic mechanisms of retaining water and maintaining ionic transport in such membranes are particularly important for applications where small system size is important. For example, in proton-exchange membrane fuel cells, where water retention in the membrane is crucial for efficient transport of hydrated ions, by operating the cells at higher temperatures without external humidification, the membrane is self-humidified with water generated by electrochemical reactions. Here we report an alternative solution that does not rely on external regulation of water supply or high temperatures. Water content in hydrocarbon polymer membranes is regulated through nanometre-scale cracks ('nanocracks') in a hydrophobic surface coating. These cracks work as nanoscale valves to retard water desorption and to maintain ion conductivity in the membrane on dehumidification. Hydrocarbon fuel-cell membranes with surface nanocrack coatings operated at intermediate temperatures show improved electrochemical performance, and coated reverse-electrodialysis membranes show enhanced ionic selectivity with low bulk resistance.

Simultaneously enhanced device efficiency, stabilized chromaticity of organic light emitting diodes with lambertian emission characteristic by random convex lenses.

An optical functional film applicable to various lighting devices is demonstrated in this study. The phase separation of two immiscible polymers in a common solvent was used to fabricate the film. In this paper, a self-organized lens-like structure is realized in this manner with optical OLED functional film. For an OLED, there are a few optical drawbacks, including light confinement or viewing angle distortion. By applying the optical film to an OLED, the angular spectra distortion resulting from the designed organic stack which produced the highest efficiency was successfully stabilized, simultaneously enhancing the efficiency of the OLED. We prove the effect of the film on the efficiency of OLEDs through an optical simulation. With the capability to overcome the main drawbacks of OLEDs, we contend that the proposed film can be applied to various lighting devices.

A randomly nano-structured scattering layer for transparent organic light emitting diodes.

A random scattering layer (RSL) consisting of a random nano-structure (RNS) and a high refractive index planarization layer (HRI PL) is suggested and demonstrated as an efficient internal light-extracting layer for transparent organic light emitting diodes (TOLEDs). By introducing the RSL, a remarkable enhancement of 40% and 46% in external quantum efficiency (EQE) and luminous efficacy (LE) was achieved without causing deterioration in the transmittance. Additionally, with the use of the RSL, the viewing angle dependency of EL spectra was reduced to a marginal degree. The results were interpreted as the stronger influence of the scattering effect over the microcavity. The RSL can be applied widely in TOLEDs as an effective light-extracting layer for extracting the waveguide mode of confined light at the indium tin oxide (ITO)/OLED stack without introducing spectral changes in TOLEDs.

Random nanostructure scattering layer for suppression of microcavity effect and light extraction in OLEDs.

In this study, we investigated the effect of a random nanostructure scattering layer (RSL) on the microcavity and light extraction in organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs). In the case of the conventional OLED, the optical properties change with the thickness of the hole transporting layer (HTL) because of the presence of a microcavity. However, OLEDs equipped with the an RSL showed similar values of external quantum efficiency and luminous efficacy regardless of the HTL thickness. These phenomena can be understood by the scattering effect because of the RSL, which suppresses the microcavity effect and extracts the light confined in the device. Moreover, OLEDs with the RSL led to reduced spectrum and color changes with the viewing angle.

FDTD analysis of the light extraction efficiency of OLEDs with a random scattering layer.

The light extraction efficiency of OLEDs with a nano-sized random scattering layer (RSL-OLEDs) was analyzed using the Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) method. In contrast to periodic diffraction patterns, the presence of an RSL suppresses the spectral shift with respect to the viewing angle. For FDTD simulation of RSL-OLEDs, a planar light source with a certain spatial and temporal coherence was incorporated, and the light extraction efficiency with respect to the fill factor of the RSL and the absorption coefficient of the material was investigated. The design results were compared to the experimental results of the RSL-OLEDs in order to confirm the usefulness of FDTD in predicting experimental results. According to our FDTD simulations, the light confined within the ITO-organic waveguide was quickly absorbed, and the absorption coefficients of ITO and RSL materials should be reduced in order to obtain significant improvement in the external quantum efficiency (EQE). When the extinction coefficient of ITO was 0.01, the EQE in the RSL-OLED was simulated to be enhanced by a factor of 1.8.

Light diffusing effects of nano and micro-structures on OLED with microcavity.

We examined the light diffusing effects of nano and micro-structures on microcavity designed OLEDs. The results of FDTD simulations and experiments showed that the pillar shaped nano-structure was more effective than the concave micro-structure for light diffusing of microcavity OLEDs. The sharp luminance distribution of the microcavity OLED was changed to near Lambertian luminance distribution by the nano-structure, and light diffusing effects increased with the height of the nano-structure. Furthermore, the nano-structure has advantages including light extraction of the substrate mode, reproducibility of manufacturing process, and minimizing pixel blur problems in an OLED display panel. The nano-structure is a promising candidate for a light diffuser, resolving the viewing angle problems in microcavity OLEDs.

Light extraction from organic light emitting diodes using chemically etched glass substrates.

We have manufactured highly efficient OLED devices fabricated on chemically etched glass substrates. The external quantum efficiency of the OLED devices with the etched glass substrates was increased by 5-27% in comparison with the reference flat glass substrate. Surface morphology, such as indented patterns, significantly affected the external luminance efficiency. A clean surface and the presence of smooth bent edges of indented patterns were found to be important for improving the external luminous efficacy.