A Fluorescent Conjugated Polar Polymer for Probing Charge Injection in Multilayer Organic Light-Emitting Transistors

Abstract

Ambipolar organic light-emitting transistors (OLETs) are extremely appealing devices for applications from sensing to communication and display realization due to their inherent capability of coupling switching and light-emitting features. However, their limited external quantum efficiency (EQE) and brightness under ambipolar bias conditions hamper the progress of OLET technology. In this context, it was recently demonstrated in multi-stacked devices that the engineering of the interface between the topmost electron-transporting organic semiconductor (e-OS) and the emission layer (EML) is crucial in optimizing the recombination of the minority charges (i.e., electrons) and to enhance EQE and brightness. Here, we introduce a new light-emitting conjugated polar polymer (CPP) in a multi-stacked OLET to improve the electron injection from e-OS to EML and to study, simultaneously, electroluminescence-related processes such as exciton formation and quenching processes. Interestingly, we observed that the highly polar groups present in the conjugate polymer induced polarization-related relevant charge-trapping phenomena with consequent modulation of the entire electrostatic field distribution and unexpected optoelectronic features. In view of the extensive use of CPPs in OLETs, the use of multifunctional CPPs for probing photophysical processes at the functional interfaces in stacked devices may speed up the improvement of the light-emission properties in OLETs.

Keywords

• organic light-emitting transistors
• conjugated polar polymer
• heterostructure
• ambipolar charge transport
• functional interfaces