Color-saturated and angle-stable blue top-emitting organic light-emitting diodes based on semitransparent bilayer cathode: Theory and experiment

Based on a modified electromagnetic theory, a bilayer metal cathode consisting of an electron injection layer and a silver (Ag) layer is designed to improve the color chromaticity in blue top-emitting organic light-emitting diodes (TEOLEDs). The effects of the complex refractive index of the electron injection material on the reflectivity and transmittivity of the bilayer cathode are investigated in detail, and then samarium (Sm) is selected as the electron injection material due to its proper refractive index of ∼1.22 + 1.12i and work function of ∼2.7 eV. Then, the emission peak wavelength, the full width at half maximum, and the Commission International de L’Eclairage coordinates of the blue TEOLEDs with different Sm/Ag bilayer cathodes are calculated and discussed. According to the theoretical results, a blue TEOLED with the optimized bilayer cathode of Sm (15 nm)/Ag (5 nm) is fabricated. The measurement results indicate that the blue TEOLED possesses an excellent chromaticity which is even better than that of a bottom-emitting organic light-emitting diode. Besides, the excellent angle stability is observed in the blue TEOLED even with a large viewing angle change of 0–75°.

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► Chromaticity drift in blue top-emitting organic light-emitting diodes (TEOLEDs) is investigated.
► A bilayer metal cathode based on Sm and Ag is designed to improve the chromaticity in blue TEOLEDs.
► Detailed theoretical analysis on the Sm/Ag bilayer cathode is given to guide the device design.
► A blue TEOLED based on the optimized Sm/Ag cathode possesses excellent saturated color and angle stability.