Semitransparent Ni/Ag/Ni electrode for use as anode in flexible red phosphorescent organic light-emitting diodes.

Abstract

We suggested that Ni/Ag/Ni semitransparent electrodes for the exchange of indium-tin-oxide (ITO) electrode, which is the most commonly used as a transparent electrode in spite of the structural defects, limited supply of indium, and toxic, could be apply on flexible Organic Light-Emitting Diodes (OLEDs). Red phosphorescent OLEDs (PHOLEDs) using different types of electrodes as ITO and various conditions of Ni/Ag/Ni electrode were fabricated and analyzed. The electrical and optical properties of device using Ni/Ag/Ni electrode were improved than that of devices on ITO glass substrate at the 10,000 cd/m2 criterion due to the micro-cavity effect even though their transmittance has lower than ITO glass. In addition, we also fabricated red PHOLEDs of same structure on Ni/Ag/Ni flexible substrate of various conditions. As a result, flexible red PHOLED showed competitive characteristics compared to the device on a glass substrate. Therefore, this study could be suggested to additional research on flexible OLEDs display and light applications for ITO-free fabrication.