Thin film hexagonal gold grids as transparent conducting electrodes in organic light emitting diodes

Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) coated glass is currently the preferred transparent conducting electrode (TCE) for organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs). However, ITO has its drawbacks, not least the scarcity of Indium, high processing temperatures, and inflexibility. A number of technologies have been put forward as replacements for ITO. In this paper, an OLED based on a gold grid TCE is demonstrated, the light emission through the grid is examined, and luminance and current measurements are reported. The gold grid has a sheet resistance of 15 Ω□⁻¹ and a light transmission of 63% at 550 nm, comparable to ITO, but with advantages in terms of processing conditions and cost. The gold grid OLED has a lower turn‐on voltage (7.7 V versus 9.8 V) and achieves a luminance of 100 cdm⁻² at a lower voltage (10.9 V versus 12.4 V) than the reference ITO OLED. We discuss the lower turn‐on voltage and the uniformity of the light output through the gold grid TCE and examine the conduction mechanisms in the ITO and gold grid TCE OLEDs.     

ZnO-Based transparent electrodes: Optimization of composition and synthesis conditions,study of properties

We present the results of comparative studies of the characteristics of ZnO-based transparent conductive layers doped with gallium (GZO) and aluminum (AZO), grown by dc magnetron sputtering of ceramic targets at various substrate temperatures (T _sub). Particular attention is paid to the study of stability of electrical characteristics of layers under temperature and humidity.     

Coupled Ag nanocrystal-based transparent mesh electrodes for transparent and flexible electro-magnetic interference shielding films

In this study, we developed a fabrication method of conductive and transparent Ag mesh electrodes on flexible polymer film at temperatures lower than 100?°C. Random patterned Ag mesh film was fabricated on a flexible PET substrate over 15?×?15?cm² by a self-assembly process. It became conductive by a coupling process at low temperatures. The coupled Ag mesh film showed more than 88% transmittance in visible wavelength and less than 8.2?Ω?sq^?1 in sheet resistance with figure of merit (FoM) value of 350. This transparent flexible EMI shield film fabricated with a coupled Ag mesh pattern showed high EM shielding effectiveness of ?23?dB?at 1.5–10?GHz frequency with a high transparency of 88%.     

Photocurrent enhancement of dye solar cells by efficient light management

We studied the possibility of photocurrent enhancement in Dye Solar Cells (DSCs) by means of two strategies of light management, namely the use of a scattering layer (SL) and the efficient coupling of incoming light into the cell. The first leads to a significant enhancement in conversion efficiency, as evident from IV characteristics and Incident Photon-to-Current Efficiency (IPCE) measurements of cells provided with SL. The latter was investigated by using angle resolved Attenuated Total Reflection (ATR) technique that evidenced a strong angular dependence of the photocurrent and further enhanced upon using a coupling prism. Both strategies are found to be based on the increase of the light path inside the active layer.     

Systematic study of highly efficient white light generation in transparent materials using intense femtosecond laser pulses

We report the results of a systematic study of white light generation in different high band-gap optical media (BaF₂, acrylic, water and BK-7 glass) using ultrashort (45 fs) laser pulses. We have investigated the influence of different parameters, such as focal position of the incident laser light within the medium, the polarization state of the incident laser radiation and the pulse duration of the incident laser beam on the white light generation. Our results indicate that for intense, ultrashort pulses, the position of physical focus inside the media is crucial in the generation, with high efficiency, of white light spectra over the wavelength range 400–1100 nm. Linearly polarized incident laser light generates white light with higher intensity in the blue region than circularly polarized light. Ultrashort (45 fs) pulses generate a flatter spectrum with higher white light conversion efficiency than longer (300 fs) pulses of the same laser power. We believe that a flat response over a wide range of wavelengths in the continuum may be efficiently compressed for generation of sub-10 fs pulses. PACS 52.38.Hb; 42.65.Jx; 42.65.Tg; 33.80.Wz; 52.35.Mw     

TCO/Ag/TCO transparent electrodes for solar cells application

Among transparent electrodes, transparent conductive oxides (TCO)/metal/TCO structures can achieve optical and electrical performances comparable to, or better than, single TCO layers and very thin metallic films. In this work, we report on thin multilayers based on aluminum zinc oxide (AZO), indium tin oxide (ITO) and Ag deposited by RF magnetron sputtering on soda lime glass at room temperature. The TCO/Ag/TCO structures with thicknesses of about 50/10/50 nm were deposited with all combinations of AZO and ITO as top and bottom layers. While the electrical conductivity is dominated by the Ag intralayer irrespective of the TCO nature, the optical transmissions show a dependence on the nature of the top and bottom TCOs, mainly due to the change in the reflectivity of the multilayers. Structural, electrical and optical properties are studied to optimize the structure for very thin transparent electrodes suitable for photovoltaic applications.     

Direct-write pulsed laser processed silver nanowire networks for transparent conducting electrodes

Metal nanowire networks are promising alternatives for transparent conducting layers in flexible electronics. However, the inverse relationship between transparency and conductivity limits their viability in many critical applications. In this work, we demonstrate a direct-write refining technique in which a solution-processed nanowire network, deposited by spin coating, is exposed to monochromatic UV pulsed laser processing near a plasmonic resonance. Our results exhibit a 75?% reduction in surface resistance along with marginal improvements in optical transparency. The local nature of the laser technique enables direct-write or large area processing on a variety of substrates including flexible, and organic materials.     

Nanoimprint texturing of transparent flexible substrates for improved light management in thin‐film solar cells

We present a nanoimprint based approach to achieve efficient light management for solar cells on low temperature transparent polymer films. These films are particularly low‐priced, though sensitive to temperature, and therefore limiting the range of deposition temperatures of subsequent solar cell layers. By using nanoimprint technology, we successfully replicated optimized light trapping textures of etched high temperature ZnO:Al on a low temperature PET film without deterioration of optical properties of the substrate. The imprint‐textured PET substrates show excellent light scattering properties and lead to significantly improved incoupling and trapping of light in the solar cell, resulting in a current density of 12.9 mA/cm², similar to that on a glass substrate. An overall efficiency of 6.9% was achieved for a flexible thin‐film silicon solar cell on low cost PET substrate. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Mechanical reliability of transparent conducting IZTO film electrodes for flexible panel displays

The mechanical reliability of transparent In-Zn-Sn-O (IZTO) films grown using pulsed DC magnetron sputtering with a single oxide alloyed ceramic target on a transparent polyimide (PI) substrate at room temperature is investigated. All IZTO films deposited at room temperature have an amorphous structure. However, their optical and electrical properties change depending on the oxygen partial pressure applied during depositing process. At an oxygen partial pressure of 3%, the films exhibit a resistivity of 8.3 × 10⁻⁴ Ω cm and an optical transmittance of 86%. Outer bending tests show that the critical bending radius decreases from 10 mm to 7.5 mm when the oxygen partial pressure increases from 1% to 3%. In the inner bending test, the critical bending radius is independent of oxygen partial pressure at 3.5 mm, indicating excellent film flexibility. In the dynamic fatigue test, the electrical resistance of the films reduces by less than 1% for more than 2000 bending cycles. These results suggest that IZTO films have excellent mechanical durability and flexibility in comparison to ITO films.     

Driving power for light modulators with interdigital electrodes

Surface field distribution induced inside an electro-optic crystal by a set of interdigital electrodes are examined more rigorously than in a previous paper about surface field electro-optic light modulators. Capacitance, effective modulating voltage, and required driving power for the modulator are calculated as a function of a structural parameter that is the ratio of the spacing to the width of electrode strips. The results are compared with the experimental values.     

Making metals transparent for white light by spoof surface plasmons

From first-principles computations we reveal that metallic gratings consisting of narrow slits may become transparent for extremely broad bandwidths under oblique incidence. This phenomenon can be explained by a concrete picture in which the incident wave drives free electrons on the conducting surfaces and part of the slit walls to form spoof surface plasmons (SSPs). The SSPs then propagate on the slit walls but are abruptly discontinued by the bottom edges to form oscillating charges that emit the transmitted wave. This picture explicitly demonstrates the conversion between light and SSPs and indicates clear guidelines for enhancing SSP excitation and propagation. Making structured metals transparent may lead to a variety of applications.     

Effects of topology on the light front

We discuss how to construct theta vacua in the light-front field theories using the 1+1 dimensional Abelian Higgs model as an example. Unlike the non-gauged scalar field, zero modes of the Higgs field are in general dynamical as well as the gauge-field zero mode. While symmetry breaking is discussed in semi-classical treatment of the zero modes, the theta vacua are introduced in the quantum level by use of the large gauge symmetry.     

Towards the light front variables for high energy production processes

Scale invariant presentation of inclusive spectra in terms of light front variables is proposed. The variables introduced go over to the well-known scaling variables and in the high and high limits respectively. Some surface is found in the phase space of produced -mesons in the inclusive reaction at 22.4 GeV/c, which separates two groups of particles with significantly different characteristics. In one of these regions a naive statistical model seems to be in a good agreement with data, whereas it fails in the second region. Received: 20 October 1997 / Revised version: 13 April 1998 / Published online: 27 April 1999     

Three-fermion bound states on the light front

We investigate the stability of the relativistic three-fermion system with a zero-range force in the light front form. In particular, introducing an invariant cut-off, we study the dependence of the bound state on the coupling strength also for cases where the two-fermion system is unbound. The relativistic Thomas collapse is discussed by solving the fully coupled integral equation system. Furthermore, we explicitly investigate the ground state mass of the three-fermion system and compare to previous simplified calculations.     

Highly conductive and transparent carbon nanotube-based electrodes for ultrathin and stretchable organic solar cells

In this work, we have presented a freestanding and flexible CNT-based film with sheet resistance of 60 ?/ and transmittance of 82% treated by nitric acid and chloroauric acid in sequence. Based on modified CNT film as a transparent electrode, we have demonstrated an ultrathin, flexible organic solar cell(OSC) fabricated on 2.5-μm PET substrate. The efficiency of OSC, combined with a composite film of poly(3-hexylthiophene)(P3HT) and phenyl-C61 butyric acid methyl ester(PCBM) as an active layer and with a thin layer of methanol soluble biuret inserted between the photoactive layer and the cathode, can be up to 2.74% which is approximate to that of the reference solar cell fabricated with ITO-coated glass(2.93%). Incorporating the as-fabricated ITO-free OSC with pre-stretched elastomer, 50% compressive deformation can apply to the solar cells. The results show that the as-prepared CNT-based hybrid film with outstanding electrical and optical properties could serve as a promising transparent electrode for low cost, flexible and stretchable OSCs, which will broaden the applications of OSC and generate more solar power than it now does.     

Microcavity light emitting diodes as efficient planar light emitters for telecommunication applications

Light emitting diodes (LEDs) can be coupled to optical fibers and used in telecommunication applications. Compared to laser diodes, the coupling is usually small, due to the isotropic emission of the source, combined with the large refractive index difference between the semiconductor and the outside medium. However, it is possible to greatly enhance the optical extraction of a planar LED by placing the source inside a microcavity which optical thickness is close to the wavelength of the emitted light. Some elementary design rules of a microcavity light emitting diode (MCLED) are explained here, and are illustrated on a real GaAs/Al_xGa_1−xAs device emitting at 880 nm. The surface external quantum efficiency of this MCLED reaches 14% into air and 20.6% with an encapsulation into an epoxy lens. These values are about 10 times larger than for a usual LED and are in good agreement with theoretical values, calculated with a plane waves model. To cite this article: D. Ochoa et al., C. R. Physique 3 (2002) 3–14     

Bright white light electroluminescent devices based on efficient management of singlet and triplet excitons

Efficient and bright white organic light-emitting devices (WOLEDs) based on phosphor sensitized fluorescence are improved by using an unusual device structure, in which phosphorescent emissive layer is sandwiched between two blue fluorescent doped ones. This architecture allows for resonant energy transfer from both the host singlet and triplet energy levels that minimizes exchange energy losses. Thus, a WOLED with a maximum luminous efficiency of 11.63 cd/A, a maximum power efficiency of 7.37 lm/W, a maximum luminance of 31,770 cd/m², and Commission Internationale de L’Eclairage coordinates of (0.34, 0.36) is achieved.     

Electronic and structural properties of graphene-based transparent and conductive thin film electrodes

We demonstrate that graphene-based transparent and conductive thin films (GTCFs), fabricated by thermal reduction of graphite oxide, have very similar electronic and structural properties as highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG). Electron spectroscopy results suggest that the GTCFs are also semi-metallic and that the individual graphene sheets of the film are predominantly oriented parallel to the substrate plane. These films may therefore be considered as a technologically relevant analogue to HOPG electrodes, which cannot be easily processed into thin films.     

Fermions in light front transverse lattice quantum chromodynamics

We briefly describe motivations for studying transverse lattice QCD. Presence of constraint equation for fermion field on the light front allows different methods to put fermions on a transverse lattice. We summarize our numerical investigation of two approaches using (a) forward and backward derivatives and (b) symmetric derivatives.