Optical Properties of Polymer LEDs

For a molecule emitting within a complex dielectric structure, the radiative rate can be strongly modified relative to the rate in an infinite isotropic medium. 

A simple example of this is the case of a molecule (modeled as an oscillating dipole) close to a perfect mirror. If the dipole is parallel to the mirror, destructive interference between directly emitted light and reflected light causes a reduction in the radiative rate. In the presence of competing nonradiative decay processes, this leads to a reduction in the efficiency of emission. The variation of radiative rate with position and orientation for a molecule within an arbitrary planar dielectric structure has been modeled by Crawford.81 This model has been applied to polymer LEDs by Burns et al.,82 and Becker et al.,83 who predict significant variations in the efficiency of radiative decay in polymer LEDs depending on the distribution of exciton generation within the device. 

The presence of interfaces within a polymer LED can also introduce additional nonradiative decay channels. This is particularly important in proximity to a metal electrode. Excitons which are able to diffuse to the metal surface are liable to be quenched directly by interaction with the metal wave function. This mechanism is therefore active only within a few nanometers of the interface. At larger distances (up to about 100 nm), excited molecules can couple to the surface plasmon excitations in the metal, thus providing a further nonradiative decay channel. The combined effects of changes in the radiative and nonradiative rates in two-layer LED structures have been modelled by Becker et al.,83 who have been able to model the variation in EL efficiency with layer thickness due to changes in the efficiency of exciton decay. 

FIGURE 5.20. Emission spectmm for a PPV microcavity stmcture at low (dotted line) and high (solid line) excitation intensities.92 

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