Highly transparent and conductive metal oxide/metal/polymer composite electrodes for high-efficiency flexible organic light-emitting devices
Li Yun-Fei,
Liu Xiaofeng,
Feng Jing,
Xie Yu,
Zhao Fangchao,
Zhang Xu-Lin,
Pei Qibing,
Sun Hong-Bo
Affiliations
Li Yun-Fei
Tianjin Key Laboratory of Electronic Materials and Devices, School of Electronics and Information Engineering, Hebei University of Technology, 5340 Xiping Road, Beichen District, Tianjin 300401, China
Liu Xiaofeng
Irvine Materials Research Institute, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
Feng Jing
State Key Laboratory of Integrated Optoelectronics, College of Electronic Science and Engineering, Jilin University, 2699 Qianjin Street, Changchun 130012, China
Xie Yu
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
Zhao Fangchao
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
Zhang Xu-Lin
State Key Laboratory of Integrated Optoelectronics, College of Electronic Science and Engineering, Jilin University, 2699 Qianjin Street, Changchun 130012, China
Pei Qibing
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
Sun Hong-Bo
State Key Laboratory of Integrated Optoelectronics, College of Electronic Science and Engineering, Jilin University, 2699 Qianjin Street, Changchun 130012, China
Ultrathin metal films emerge as an innovative category of transparent electrodes in recent decades, holding great promises enabling the next-generation flexible organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs). Although metal thin films with polymer nucleation inducers have been extensively studied in OLEDs, satisfying the requirements of both superior optoelectrical and high optical outcoupling characteristics is still challenging. Here, we demonstrate a metal oxide/ultrathin Ag/polymer (MAP) composite electrode with low sheet resistance of 15.1 Ω/sq, high transmittance of 87.4% at 550 nm, and smooth morphology with surface roughness of 0.768 nm. Besides, the composite electrodes significantly enhance the outcoupling of the light trapped in OLEDs due to the relatively high-refractive index polymer. Flexible OLEDs with the MAP anodes exhibit over 2.3 times enhancement in efficiency to that of indium tin oxide (ITO)-based OLEDs. The flexible OLEDs can survive 1000 bending cycles at a bending radius of 8 mm with negligible decrease in electroluminescent performance.
