Interfaces OLEDs

Due to the relatively high mobility of holes compared with the mobility of electrons in organic materials, holes are often the major charge carriers in OLED devices. To better balance holes and electrons, one approach is to use low WF metals, such as Ca or Ba, protected by a stable metal, such as Al or Ag, overcoated to increase the electron injection efficiency. The problem with such an approach is that the long-term stability of the device is poor due to its tendency to create detrimental quenching sites at areas near the EML-cathode interface. Another approach is to lower the electron injection barrier by introducing a cathode interfacial material (CIM) layer between the cathode material and the organic layer. The optimized thickness of the CIM layer is usually about 0.3-1.0 nm. The function of the CIM is to lower... 

The primary effect of the anode modification on the enhancement in luminous efficiency and the increased stability of OLEDs can be attributed to an improved hole-electron current balance. By choosing an interlayer with a suitable thickness of a few nanometers, anode modification enables engineering of the interface electronic properties. The above results indicate that conventional dual-layer OLEDs of ITO/NPB/Alq3/cathode have an inherent weakness of instability that can be improved by the insertion of an ultrathin interlayer between ITO and HTL. The improvements are attributed to an improved ITO-HTL interfacial quality and a more balanced hole electron current that enhances the OLED performance. 

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is a powerful and mature microstructural characterization technique. The principles and applications of TEM have been described in many books [16 20]. The image formation in TEM is similar to that in optical microscopy, but the resolution of TEM is far superior to that of an optical microscope due to the enormous differences in the wavelengths of the sources used in these two microscopes. Today, most TEMs can be routinely operated at a resolution better than 0.2 nm, which provides the desired microstructural information about ultrathin layers and their interfaces in OLEDs. Electron beams can be focused to nanometer size, so nanochemical analysis of materials can be performed [21]. These unique abilities to provide structural and chemical information down to atomic-nanometer dimensions make it an indispensable technique in OLED development. However, TEM specimens need to be very thin to make them transparent to electrons. This is one of the most formidable obstacles in using TEM in this field. Current versions of OLEDs are composed of hard glass substrates, soft organic materials, and metal layers. Conventional TEM sample preparation techniques are no longer suitable for these samples [22-24], Recently, these difficulties have been overcome by using the advanced dual beam (DB) microscopy technique, which will be discussed later. 

The OLED is composed of hard and soft layers so that the conventional cross-sectional TEM sample preparation techniques cannot be applied. Figure 10.3 is a first DB microscopy-prepared TEM image of an OLED in cross-sectional view [37], The glass substrate, ITO, organic layers, and A1 cathode are indicated in the image. The microstructure and interfaces of all these layers can be well studied now. The nanometer-sized spots in organic layers are indium-rich particles. We believe the combination of DB microscopy and TEM will greatly advance the OLED research and development in the near future. 

COM includes a model for compound documents called OLE (a collection of standard COM interfaces) and includes ActiveX controls, another set of COM interface standards that include outgoing interfaces to permit events to be signaled by a control to its container. ActiveX controls also have properties that are similar to JavaBeans properties. 

Ultimately, the encapsulated chromophore must be interfaced with hole- and electron-transporting elements to afford an actual OLED device. In this context, a dendrimer is ideally suited since it not only provides steric protection (site... 

FIG. 13. Transmission electron micrograph of a freeze fractured w/o cream. The aqueous phase is dispersed as droplets within the continuous lipophilic phase the interface consists of multiple bilayers of hydrated surfactant molecules, bar 500 mn. From Miiller-Goymann, C., Halbfeste emulsionsahnliche Zustande, Seifert, Ole, Fette, Wachse, 110 395-400 (1984). 

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