Photoactivated and patternable charge transport materials and their use in organic light-emitting devices
Abstract
Organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs) usually employ at least one organic semiconductor layer that acts as a hole-injection material. The prototypical example is a conjugated polymer such as poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) heavily p doped with polystyrene sulfonic acid. Here, the authors describe a chemical doping strategy for hole injection material formulation that enables spatial patterning of the material conductivity through optical activation. The strategy utilizes an organic photoacid generator (PAG) dispersed in a polymeric organic semiconductor host. Upon UV irradiation, the PAG decomposes and generates a strong protonic acid that subsequently p dopes the host. The authors demonstrate an OLED made with such a light-activated hole-injection material and show that arbitrary emission patterning can be accomplished. This approach may provide a simple, low cost path toward specialty lighting and signage applications for OLED technology.
- Publication:
-
Applied Physics Letters
- Pub Date:
- June 2007
- DOI:
- Bibcode:
- 2007ApPhL..90w3503L
- Keywords:
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- 61.72.Ww;
- 72.80.Le;
- 72.20.-i;
- 85.40.Hp;
- Doping and impurity implantation in other materials;
- Polymers;
- organic compounds;
- Conductivity phenomena in semiconductors and insulators;
- Lithography masks and pattern transfer