Surface and edge emission in organic light emitting devices

We report the studies on photoluminescence (PL) and electroluminescence (EL) spectra of organic light emitting diodes (OLED) based on most widely used light emitting material, i.e., Tris-(8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminum (Alq3). PL studies from the edges and top surface were carried out on different thicknesses of single layer of Alq3 coated on glass substrate and the PL intensity from the edges was found to be more than that from the top surface. On the other hand EL emission intensity from the surface was found to be larger than that from the edges of the OLED device. The discrepancy in the PL and EL emission from edge and the top surfaces is discussed. The effect of the thickness of Alq3 layer on the PL intensity and the emission spectra are also investigated.