Novel transparent Yb-based cathodes for top-emitting organic light emitting devices with high performance

We have studied three kinds of transparent low-work-function Yb-based cathodes for the top-emitting organic light emitting devices (TEOLEDs) with a structure of ITO/NPB/Alq₃/cathodes and compared them with each other. For the Yb/Au cathodes, a series of Yb layers with various thicknesses have been tested and it is found that the Yb layer with a thickness of 4 nm is the optimum one. The Yb:Au (19 nm) and Yb:Ag (19 nm) co-evaporation cathodes possess very high transmittance but relative poor electron injection; whilst the Yb (4 nm)/Au (15 nm) cathode possess a little lower transmittance but much improved electron injection and the TEOLED with this cathode has the highest power efficiency among the TEOLEDs with the three kinds of Yb-based cathodes mentioned above.     

Temperature dependence of electroluminescence from Si-based light emitting diodes with β-FeSi2 particles active region

Electroluminescence (EL) properties of Si-based light emitting diodes with β-FeSi₂ particles active region grown by reactive deposition epitaxy are investigated. EL intensity of β-FeSi₂ particles versus excitation current densities has different behaviors at 8, 77 K and room temperature, respectively. The EL peak energy shifted from 0.81 to 0.83 eV at 77 K with the increase of current density from 1 to 70 A/cm². Temperature dependence of the peak energy can be well fitted by semi-empirical Varshni's law with the parameters of α=4.34 e-4 eV/K and β=110 K. These results indicate that the EL emission originates from the band-to-band transition with the band gap energy of 0.824 eV at 0 K.     

Improved electron injection of OLEDs with a thin PBD layer at Alq3/Cs2CO3 interface

In this study, the effect of one oxadiazole derivative (PBD) using as an electron injection layer (EIL) at Alq₃/Cs₂CO₃ interface has been investigated. The present of PBD EIL was showed an interesting enhanced electron injection for OLEDs although the nominal electron injection barrier for PBD based OLEDs is much larger, because PBD owns an obvious higher intrinsic the Lowest Unoccupied Molecular Orbital level (2.3 eV) than that of Alq₃ (3.0 eV). For example, the current density of OLEDs at 8 V was increased from 54 mA/cm² to 168 mA/cm² when inserting a thin PBD layer (5 nm) at Alq₃/Cs₂CO₃ interface. Here the increased current is suggested associating with the changed electronic structure of PBD when it contacts with Cs₂CO₃.     

Probing buried interfaces on Ge-based metal gate/high-k stacks by hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

In this contribution, we present results of a non-destructive in-depth analysis of concentration of chemical components at buried interfaces on Ge-based CMOS by means of hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HAXPES) and low angle X-ray reflectivity (XRR). Two samples composed of a Ge/Si/SiO₂/HfO₂/TiN stack, with layer and interlayer thicknesses of 2500, 0.9, 0.5, 4.9, 3.4 nm and 2500, 0.7, 1, 5.8, 3 nm have been studied. The use of electrons with kinetic energies from few eV up to 15 keV enables to tune the information depth being able to analyze the desired interface in a non-destructive way. XRR enables the determination of the exact layer thickness and density. The results suggest that the Si interlayer prevents the Ge oxidation. Depth profiles of the electronic structure have been obtained for both samples by following the evolution of the photoemission signal from the Hf 2p_3/2 core level as a function of the photoelectron kinetic energy. The depth profile of the electronic structure reveals the presence of a chemical shift of the Hf 2p_3/2 core level, which is related to an interfacial bonding state. Our results demonstrate the excellent capability of HAXPES to study buried interfaces in a non-destructive way.     

Fabrication and characterization of Au/SiO2 nanocomposite films

Au/SiO₂ nanocomposite films were prepared by radio frequency sputtering technique and annealing. The above nanocomposite films were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The surface of the nanocomposite films was uniform with the particle diameter of 100-300 nm. The size of Au crystallites increased on increasing annealing time. The luminescent behavior of the nanocomposite films was characterized by photoluminescence (PL) with different excitation wavelengths. Two emission peaks at around 525 nm and 560 nm were observed with the excitation wavelength at 325 nm. An intensive emission peak at around 325 nm was observed with the excitation wavelength at 250 nm, which is related to the defective structure of the amorphous SiO₂ layer because of oxygen deficiency, and could be applied to many fields, such as ultraviolet laser and ultraviolet detector.     

Fast‐response organic–inorganic hybrid light‐emitting diode

We demonstrated important changes produced on the modulation frequency of hybrid organic–inorganic light‐emitting diodes to examine the applicability as a light source for visible optical communications. The fabricated device structure was 4,4′‐bis[N ‐(1‐napthyl)‐N ‐phenyl‐amino]biphenyl/4,4′‐(bis(9‐ethyl‐3‐carbazovinylene)‐1,1′‐biphenyl:4,4′‐bis[9‐dicarbazolyl]‐2,2′‐biphenyl/ZnS/LiF/MgAg. This device showed an improvement in the modulation frequency using ZnS instead of an organic material, tris(8‐hydroxyquinoline)aluminum. A maximum cutoff frequency of 20.6 MHz was achieved.

     

Effect of laser-etched indium tin oxide on optoelectrical properties of organic light-emitting diodes

This study investigated how laser and wet etching methods of ITO substrates affect the optoelectrical properties of OLEDs. Experimental results indicated that the OLED with a laser-etched ITO substrate has a lower driving voltage than that with a wet-etched ITO substrate. According to scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements, the ITO etching methods yielded different surface morphologies of ITO pattern edges. The lower luminance of the OLED with a laser-etched ITO substrate is attributable to the fringe at the edge of ITO pattern, which causes a high local electric field resulting in the recrystallization of organic materials.     

The roles of zinc selenide sandwiched between organic layers and its applications in white light-emitting diodes

In this paper, the roles of zinc selenide (ZnSe) sandwiched between organic layers, i.e. organic/ZnSe/aluminum quinoline (Alq₃), have been studied by varying device structure. A broad band emission was observed from ITO/poly(N-vinylcarbazole)(PVK)(80 nm)/ZnSe(120 nm)/ Alq₃(15 nm)/Al under electric fields and it combined the emissions from the bulk of PVK, ZnSe and Alq₃, however, emission from only Alq₃ was observed from trilayer device ITO/N,N^′-bis-(1-naphthyl)-N,N^′-diphenyl-1, 1^′-biphenyl-4, 4^′-diamine (NPB) (40 nm)/ZnSe(120 nm)/ Alq₃(15 nm)/Al. Consequently the luminescence mechanism in the ZnSe layer is suggested to be charge carrier injection and recombination. By thermal co-evaporating Alq₃ and 4-(dicyanomethylene)-2-t-butyl-6-(1,1,7,7-tetramethyljulolidyl-9-enyl)-4H-pyran (DCJTB), we get white light emission with a Commission Internationale de l’E clairage (C.I.E) co-ordinates of (0.32, 0.38) from device ITO/PVK(80 nm)/ZnSe(120 nm)/ Alq₃:DCJTB(0.5 wt% DCJTB)(15 nm)/Al at 15 V and the device performs stably with increasing applied voltages.     

On the improvement of the electroluminescent signal of organic light emitting diodes by the presence of an ultra‐thin metal layer at the interface organic/ITO

The electroluminescent (EL) signal of organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) based on simple “hole transporting layer/electron transporting layer” (HTL/ETL) structures has been studied as a function of the anode/HTL interface, the anode being an indium tin oxide (ITO) film. It is shown that the electroluminescent (EL) signal increases when a metal ultra‐thin layer is introduced between the anode and the HTL. Experimental results show that the work function value of the metal is only one of the factors which allow improving the EL signal via better hole injection efficiency. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Fabrication of nanostructured CuInS2 thin films by ion layer gas reaction method

CuInS₂ thin films were prepared by a two-stage ion layer gas reaction (ILGAR) process in which the Cu and In precursors were deposited on glass substrate by using a simple and low-cost dip coating technique and annealed in H₂S atmosphere at different temperatures. The influence of the annealing temperature (250-450 °C) on the particle size, crystal structure and optical properties of the CuInS₂ thin films was studied. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that the particle radii varied in the range 6-21 nm with annealing. XRD and SAED patterns indicated polycrystalline nature of the nanoparticles. The optical band gap (E_g) varied from 1.48 to 1.56 eV with variation of particle size. The variation of Urbach tail with temperature indicated higher density of the defects for the films annealed at lower temperature. From the Raman study, it was observed that the FWHM of the A₁ mode at ∼292 cm⁻¹ corresponding to the chalcopyrite phase of CuInS₂ decreased with increasing annealing temperature.     

Blue organic light-emitting diodes with low driving voltage and maximum enhanced power efficiency based on buffer layer MoO3

Blue organic light-emitting devices based on wide bandgap host material, 2-(t-butyl)-9, 10-di-(2-naphthyl) anthracene (TBADN), blue fluorescent styrylamine dopant, p-bis(p-N,N-diphenyl-amino-styryl)benzene (DSA-Ph) have been realized by using molybdenum oxide (MoO₃) as a buffer layer and 4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline (BPhen) as the ETL. The typical device structure used was glass substrate/ITO/MoO₃ (5 nm)/NPB (30 nm)/[TBADN: DSA-Ph (3 wt%)](35 nm)/BPhen (12 nm)/LiF (0.8 nm)/Al (100 nm). It was found that the MoO₃∥BPhen-based device shows the lowest driving voltage and highest power efficiency among the referenced devices. At the current density of 20 mA/cm², its driving voltage and power efficiency are 5.4 V and 4.7 Lm/W, respectively, which is independently reduced 46%, and improved 74% compared with those the m-MTDATA∥Alq₃ is based on, respectively. The J-V curves of ‘hole-only’ devices reveal that a small hole injection barrier between MoO₃∥NPB leads to a strong hole injection, resulting low driving voltage and high power efficiency. The results strongly indicate that carrier injection ability and balance shows a key significance in OLED performance.     

Dependence of Photovoltaic Property of ZnO/Si Heterojunction Solar Cell on Thickness of ZnO Films

N-ZnO/p-Si heterojunctions are prepared by sputtering deposition of intrinsic ZnO films on p-Si substrates. Thicknesses of ZnO films are altered by varying the deposition time from I h to 3h. The electrical properties of these structures are analysed from capacitance-voltage （C V） and current-voltage （I-V） characteristics performed in a dark room. The results demonstrated that all the samples show strong rectifying behaviour. Photovoltaie property for the samples with different thicknesses of ZnO films are investigated by measuring open circuit voltage and short circuit current. It is found that photovoltages are kept to be almost constant of 320 m V along with the thickness while photoeurrents changing a lot. The variation mechanism of the photovoltade effect as a function of thickness of ZnO films is investigated.     

Trapping centers and their distribution in Tl2Ga2Se3S layered single crystals

Thermally stimulated current (TSC) measurements with current flowing perpendicular to the layers were carried out on Tl₂Ga₂Se₃S layered single crystals in the temperature range of 10-260 K. The experimental data were analyzed by using different methods, such as curve fitting, initial rise and isothermal decay methods. The analysis revealed that there were three trapping centers with activation energies of 12, 76 and 177 meV. It was concluded that retrapping in these centers was negligible, which was confirmed by the good agreement between the experimental results and the theoretical predictions of the model that assumes slow retrapping. The capture cross section and the concentration of the traps have been also determined. An exponential distribution of electron traps was revealed from the analysis of the TSC data obtained at different light illumination temperatures. This experimental technique provided values of 10 and 88 meV/decade for the traps distribution related to two different trapping centers.     

Surface and transport studies on La0.7Ba0.3MnO3:SnO2 bilayer

We report on study of morphology, optical contrast and transport characteristics of La_0.7Ba_0.3MnO₃ (LBMO) manganite thin films bilayered with SnO₂ on Si (0 0 1) substrate, synthesized using pulsed laser deposition system. X-ray diffraction study reveals that both LBMO and SnO₂ show polycrystalline growth over the substrate. Atomic force microscopy shows interesting pyramidal structures of LBMO of size ∼2 μm × 1 μm × 0.1 μm. On the other hand, SnO₂ grows in the form of close packed cylindrical clusters of ∼200 nm radius. Near-field optical microscopy (NSOM) study using 532 nm laser reveal that optical NSOM output intensity in LBMO is four times less than SnO₂ signal. Transport characterizations show that this bilayer configuration exhibit non-linear current-voltage characteristics from 300 upto 50 K. The nature becomes linear below this temperature. The results project the system as a promising candidate in non-conventional device category in the area of spintronics.     

Trap levels in layered semiconductor Ga2SeS

Trap levels in nominally undoped Ga₂SeS layered crystals have been characterized by thermally stimulated current (TSC) measurements. During the measurements, current was allowed to flow along the c-axis of the crystals in the temperature range of 10-300 K. Two distinct TSC peaks were observed in the spectra, deconvolution of which yielded three peaks. The results are analyzed by curve fitting, peak shape and initial rise methods. They all seem to be in good agreement with each other. The activation energies of three trapping centers in Ga₂SeS are found to be 72, 100 and 150 meV. The capture cross section of these traps are 6.7×10⁻²³, 1.8×10⁻²³ and 2.8×10⁻²² cm² with concentrations of 1.3×10¹², 5.4×10¹² and 4.2×10¹² cm⁻³, respectively.     

Structure, magnetic and electrical transport properties of cosputtered Fe0.5Ge0.5 nanocomposite films

Fe_0.5Ge_0.5 nanocomposite films with different film thicknesses were fabricated using cosputtering. The films are composed of Ge, Fe and Fe₃Ge₂, and are ferromagnetic at room temperature. The saturation magnetization and magnetic interaction including dipolar interaction and exchange coupling increase with the increasing film thickness. The electrical conductance mechanism turns from metallic to semiconducting and the saturation Hall resistivity ρ_xys increases with the decreasing film thickness. At 28 nm, ρ_xys is ∼137 μΩ cm at 2 K, about 150 times larger than that of pure Fe film (0.9 μΩ cm) and four orders larger than that of bulk Fe. The ρ_xy-H curves of all the films show the same linearity character in low-field range even though the temperature-independent slope is different at different film thicknesses. At high temperatures, the skew scattering mechanism is dominant. At low temperatures, side-jump effect should be dominant at large resistivity ρ_xx regime for the thin films, and the skew scattering is dominant at small ρ_xx regime for the thick films.     

The surface modification of nanoporous SiOx thin films with a monofunctional organosilane

The surfaces of nanostructured, porous SiO_x/Si (air-oxidized Si) and SiO_x thin films, deposited by excimer laser ablation in He and He + O₂ gas ambients, respectively, have been modified by the deposition of a monofunctional organosilane. They were characterized using photoacoustic Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) X-ray photoelectron (XPS) spectroscopies, and field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). Photoacoustic FTIR analysis indicates that the organosilane has hydrolyzed to form a silanol, which has chemically reacted with SiO_x through its surface silanol (SiOH) group, to form siloxane (SiOSi) structures. An enhanced IR spectral signal is found, due to the expansion and contraction of both the pores of the solid and the gas within them.     

Studies on influence of light on fluorescence of Tris-(8-hydroxyquinoline)aluminum thin films

Tris-(8-hydroxyquinoline)aluminum (Alq₃) thin films, the most widely used electron transport/emissive material in the organic electroluminescent (EL) devices, have been deposited on glass substrates by thermal evaporation process. Alq₃ thin films were exposed to light for various time periods under normal ambient. The fluorescence of as-prepared and light exposed Alq₃ thin films and formation of luminescent quencher have been studied using fluorescence, Mass, MALDI-ToF-MS, ¹H & ¹³C NMR, and FT-IR spectroscopy. It is observed that among the three 8-hydroxyquinoline (HQ) units in Alq₃ molecule, one HQ unit is affected during the light exposure in the normal ambient. It is found that the affected resultant Alq₃ molecule containing the carbonyl group acts as fluorescent quencher and the energy of excitons in the Alq₃ molecule in the light exposed Alq₃ thin films can be non-radiatively transferred to the neighboring fluorescent quencher, quenching the fluorescence of light exposed Alq₃ thin films in the normal ambient.     

Application of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to characterization of Au nanoparticles formed by ion implantation into SiO2

In X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) of Au nanoparticles, the width of 5d valence band changes with Au particle size. This enables us to estimate the size of Au nanoparticles by using XPS. In this work, the 5d-band width has been measured for Au nanoparticles formed by ion implantation into SiO₂. The 5d-band width is found to be correlated strongly with the Au concentration. As the Au concentration increases, the 5d-band width becomes larger, indicating that the Au nanoparticles with the larger size tend to be formed in the vicinity of the projected range of Au ions. This correlation agrees very well with the results from transmission electron microscopy.     

Onset of ferromagnetism in ultrathin Fe films on semiconductors

Very thin Fe films have been grown by molecular beam epitaxy on Ge(001), GaAs(001) and ZnSe(001) substrates, under identical preparation conditions. The electronic and magnetic properties of such interfaces have been studied, as a function of the Fe thickness, by means of spin resolved inverse photoemission. From the spin dependence of Fe empty states, we observe the onset of room temperature ferromagnetism to occur at a Fe thickness as low as three monolayers (ML) for Fe/Ge, while 5 and 8 ML have been found for Fe/GaAs and Fe/ZnSe, respectively.