Comparison of models of electroluminescence in organic double-layer light-emitting diodes

Abstract

A theoretical model of leakage and barrier-limited recombination of charge carriers at the interface separating two disordered organic materials in organic light-emitting diodes is formulated. Spatial disorder of molecular materials is reflected in the model by differentiating the hopping distances associated with jumps leading to recombination from those leading to leakage. The former and the latter are determined by the mean intersite distance and by the shortest hopping distance, respectively. It is shown that the effect of the difference between the two hopping distances on the current and recombination efficiencies depends on a barrier height and electric field strength at the organic–organic interface. The results of the models with barrier-limited recombination and Langevin recombination are compared. It is shown that both models yield comparable results for the steady-state recombination efficiency and current, if at least one of the interfacial energy barriers is small enough and the leakage is modeled in the same way. Thus broad applicability of the Langevin model is shown, when a suggested leakage model is used. The importance of microscopic correlations in the relative positions of electrons and holes at the organic–organic interface is discussed.