Fast Organic Vapor Phase Deposition of Thin Films in Light-Emitting Diodes.

Qu, Boning; Ding, Kan; Sun, Kai; Hou, Shaocong; Morris, Steven; Shtein, Max; Forrest, Stephen R · ACS Nano · 2020

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Fast deposition of thin films is essential for achieving low-cost, high-throughput phosphorescent organic light-emitting diode (PHOLED) production. In this work, we demonstrate rapid and uniform growth of semiconductor thin films by organic vapor phase deposition (OVPD). A green PHOLED comprising an emission layer (EML) grown at 50 Å/s with bis[2-(2-pyridinyl-<i>N</i>)phenyl-<i>C</i>](acetylacetonato)iridium(III) (Ir(ppy)<sub>2</sub>(acac)) doped into 4,4'-bis(<i>N</i>-carbazolyl)-1,1'-biphenyl (CBP) exhibits a maximum external quantum efficiency of 20 ± 1%. The morphology, charge transport properties, and radiative efficiency under optical and electrical excitation of the PHOLED EML are investigated as functions of the deposition rate <i>via</i> both experimental and theoretical approaches. The EML shows no evidence for gas phase nucleation of the organic molecules at deposition rates as high as 50 Å/s. However, the roll-off in quantum efficiency at high current progressively increases with deposition rate due to enhanced triplet-polaron annihilation. The roll-off results from accumulation of stress within the PHOLED EML that generates a high density of defect states. The defects, in turn, act as recombination sites for triplets and hole polarons, leading to enhanced triplet-polaron annihilation at high current. We introduce a void nucleation model to describe the film morphology evolution that is observed using electron microscopy.