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Electroluminescence

Electroluminescence

Electroluminescence (EL) is the generation of light through the radiative recombination of holes and electrons which have been injected into the emissive material from cathode and anode contacts. Electroluminescent describes anything that can generate light in response to an electric current or field.

Dopant materials in electroluminescent devices enhance efficiency and control the color of the emitted light. Charge carriers (electrons/holes) are injected into the material due to an applied bias over the cathode and anode. These cathode and anodes are orientated opposite each other. When a hole and an electron recombine, the electron relaxes into the hole, resulting in the emission of a photon with an energy characteristic of the optical transition. It is this charge recombination that is fundamental to the process of electroluminescence in light emitting diodes (LEDs) and organic LEDs (OLEDs).

Electroluminescence charge injection and recombination
Simplified radiative recombination process of hole and electron for electroluminescence (EL). Holes and electrons are injected into the recombination region (dashed box) from the cathode and anode. The y-axis takes into account the relative energy of the injected charges. This difference in energy is what is released as a photon.

Electroluminescence vs Photoluminescence


Electroluminescence is different from photoluminescence (PL) in which electrons are excited by incident photon absorption. The actual transition of an electron from a higher energy state to a lower energy state to emit a photon is identical in both electroluminescence and photoluminescence. However, the electric field applied for LED operation can cause a shift in the emission in electroluminescence. This shift in the emission from an applied electric field is called the Stark effect.

Applications of Electroluminescence


Electroluminescence is the generation of light through electrical operation. You can use this principle directly in electronic devices, whether it be for lighting or display purposes. There are two main types of light emitting devices which use electroluminescence. These are LEDs and OLEDs.

Electroluminescence in LEDS

LEDs are typically made from III-V inorganic semiconductors, for example Gallium arsenide (GaAs) and are grown atom-by-atom to form a uniform crystalline structure. The performance of your LED will depend on the quality of your layers. The choice and ratio of III-V inorganic semiconductors used in your LED will control the emission properties of the light.

Electroluminescence in OLEDs

OLEDs on the other hand are not deposited at this atomic level. Instead, the active area is made from dopant materials such organic small molecules and/or polymers that can be thermally evaporated or spin coated. The molecules do not have to be highly ordered like in LEDs and can be an amorphous film.

How to Measure Electroluminescence?


Electroluminescence experimental setup: fiber optic cable and spectrometer used to measure EL
Experimental setup for measuring electroluminescence from a device using a fiber optic cable and spectrometer

In order to measure electroluminescence, the active region needs to be excited by an external source, similar to with photoluminescence. For EL, you can do this by connecting a power supply over the device to apply a bias. This will drive charge injection into your device for radiative recombination and therefore electroluminescence will occur. To capture the emission, you can simply place a fiber optic in front of the active area of your device and then connect the other end of the fiber to a USB spectrometer. This will give you the intensity of the emission as a function of wavelength.

Electroluminescent Efficiency


The intensity of the electroluminescence generated by a device is dependent on the current injection, as increasing the available charge carriers will enhance the rate of recombination. To achieve maximum efficiency, every electron that is injected should undergo radiative recombination. However, loss mechanisms can prevent this. Losses that occur during charge injection and recombination, such as triplet formation in OLEDs, are internal losses. Losses associated with the absorption of emitted light, by the substrate for example, are known as outcoupling losses.

The ratio of the number of photons emitted (Np) and electrons injected (Ne) in the recombination region is the internal electroluminescence quantum efficiency (ni):

Electroluminescence interal quantum efficiency

This measurement gives you an idea of how efficient your emitting layer is at converting electrons into light.

The ratio of number of photons emitted (Np) and photons that exit the device (Nex) is the outcoupling efficiency (no).

Electroluminescence outcoupling efficiency

This measurement will tell you if the layers surrounding your device are reducing the efficiency of the light escaping from the device.

The total external quantum efficiency (EQE) is a combination of both internal (ni) and outcoupling efficiencies (no):

Electroluminescence external quantum efficiency

EQE is a complete measurement of how efficiently your device converts electrons into light that can successfully leave the device.

Dopant Materials

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The acronym ‘OLED’ stands for Organic Light-Emitting Diode - a technology that uses LEDs in which the light is produced by organic molecules. These organic LEDs are used to create what are considered to be the world’s best display panels.

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organic light emitting diodes Organic Light Emitting Diodes

Organic light emitting diodes are thin film devices that convert electrical energy into visible light. In OLED devices, electrons and holes are injected into the organic medium and recombine radiatively via electroluminescence (EL). The colour of the light emitted is dependent on the molecular structure of the organic material. This can be easily customized to make a wide range of wavelengths thanks to the endless configurations of organic molecules.

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Contributing Authors


Written by

Peter Claronino

PhD Student Collaborator

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