Effect of Optical and Morphological Control of Single-Structured LEC Device

Abstract

We investigated the performance of single-structured light-emitting electrochemical cell (LEC) devices with Ru(bpy)3(PF6)2 polymer composite as an emission layer by controlling thickness and heat treatment. When the thickness was smaller than 120–150 nm, the device performance decreased because of the low optical properties and non-dense surface properties. On the other hand, when the thickness was over than 150 nm, the device had too high surface roughness, resulting in high-efficiency roll-off and poor device stability. With 150 nm thickness, the absorbance increased, and the surface roughness was low and dense, resulting in increased device characteristics and better stability. The heat treatment effect further improved the surface properties, thus improving the device characteristics. In particular, the external quantum efficiency (EQE) reduction rate was shallow at 100 °C, which indicates that the LEC device has stable operating characteristics. The LEC device exhibited a maximum luminance of 3532 cd/m2 and an EQE of 1.14% under 150 nm thickness and 100 °C heat treatment.