ITO sputtering study for transparent OLED top electrode

Fiorita Nunziata; Salvatore Aprano; Rosalba Liguori; Maria Grazia Maglione; Paolo Tassini; Alfredo Rubino

doi:10.1117/12.3018335

18 June 2024 ITO sputtering study for transparent OLED top electrode

Fiorita Nunziata, Salvatore Aprano, Rosalba Liguori, Maria Grazia Maglione, Paolo Tassini, Alfredo Rubino

Proceedings Volume 13013, Organic Electronics and Photonics: Fundamentals and Devices IV; 1301302 (2024) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3018335
Event: SPIE Photonics Europe, 2024, Strasbourg, France

Abstract

Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs) are a cutting-edge lighting technology that allows to create thin, light weight, diffuse-emitting, glare-free, and even transparent light sources having low power consumption, wide color gamut, fast response time, and precise dimming. Transparent OLEDs (TrOLEDs) can be integrated into architectural glass windows, car windshields, divider panels, or lamps, thus enabling the creation of lighting objects with captivating and innovative designs, allowing natural light to pass through, since they are optically transparent when turned off. In order to achieve high-performance TrOLED, it is necessary to develop transparent electrodes with superior optical and electrical properties, to replace the opaque metal top electrodes that are commonly used in bottom-emitting OLEDs. Transparent conducting oxides (TCOs) are the most widely used transparent materials for bottom electrodes, and sputtering technology is the most common technique to deposit such materials. However, sputtering of high-quality TCO is not well suited for the fabrication of OLED top electrodes because it exposes the underlying organic layers to damages by the plasma emission of high-energy particles. In this study, the effects of sputter deposition of Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) on Tris(8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminum(III) (Alq₃) OLED active layer have been investigated, to establish the best compromise between process conditions and ITO films electro-optical properties to reduce the damage induced by sputtering. Moreover, the impact of introducing a thin thermally evaporated calcium (Ca) layer, before ITO sputtering, has also been examined. In this case, Ca acts both as a protective layer for the underlying Alq₃ and, at the same time, as a good electron injector for OLEDs.

Conference Presentation

(2024) Published by SPIE. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Citation Download Citation

Fiorita Nunziata, Salvatore Aprano, Rosalba Liguori, Maria Grazia Maglione, Paolo Tassini, and Alfredo Rubino "ITO sputtering study for transparent OLED top electrode", Proc. SPIE 13013, Organic Electronics and Photonics: Fundamentals and Devices IV, 1301302 (18 June 2024); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3018335

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available