Electron-injecting properties of Rb2CO3-doped Alq3 thin films in organic light-emitting diodes

Abstract

Rubidium carbonate (Rb2CO3)-doped tris(8-quinolinolato)aluminum (III) (Alq3) thin films have been investigated as electron-injecting materials for organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). Electron-only devices consisting of glass/tin-doped indium oxide (ITO)/Rb2CO3-doped Alq3 (10 nm)/aluminum (Al) showed an electron-ohmic contact property between the electrode and the organic layer at the doping concentration of 10% and higher. The electron-injecting ability of these contacts was largely enhanced by the n-doping effect of Rb2CO3 into the Alq3 layer. The ultraviolet photoemission spectra revealed that when the doping concentration was increased, the n-doping effect reduced the carrier-injecting barrier height by lowering the work function at the Rb2CO3-doped Alq3 interfaces. Also, the x-ray photoemission spectra showed that as the doping concentration was increased at the interfaces, Alq3 molecules decomposed in a chemical reaction with Rb2CO3. The OLED device, having the glass/ITO/molybdenum oxide (MoOx, 25%)-doped N,N′-diphenyl-N,N′-bis(1-naphthyl)-1,1′-biphenyl-4,4′-diamine (NPB, 5 nm)/NPB (63 nm)/Alq3 (32 nm)/Rb2CO3-doped Alq3 (10%, 10 nm)/Al (100 nm) structure, showed the best performance at the optimal doping concentration of Rb2CO3-doped Alq3, both the maximum luminance of 114 400 cd/m2 at the bias voltage of 9.8 V and the power efficiency of 2.7 lm/W at the luminance of 1000 cd/m2 were obtained.