Plasmon–Exciton Polaritons (PEPs) assisted Phosphorescent Organic Light-Emitting Diodes (PLAS-PHOLEDs)

The ultimate objective of PLAS-PHOLED is to increase tenfold the operational lifetime and luminance of phosphorescent organic light-emitting diodes (PHOLEDs). I will achieve this by increasing the radiative rate of triplet states through the design and engineering of PHOLEDs that support plasmon–exciton polaritons (PEPs). PEPs were recently introduced by Prof. Forrest's group as a promising technology for increasing Purcell enhancement in the OLED stack . PEPs effectiveness in OLEDs is sensitive to the optical properties of the underlying microcavity effects which I plan to exploit to reduce the probability of forming destructive high-energy states via triplet–polaron and triplet-exciton collisions. PLAS-PHOLED will study OLEDs that emit from visible (blue, green and red) to near-infrared (NIR) regimes. While PLAS-PHOLED kicks off by studying organometallic complexes that will enable me to deeply understand the device parameters that best support PEP, it later extends to purely organic room temperature phosphorescence (RTP) materials. The latter is the key novelty of PLAS-PHOLED as it will enable the RTP compounds to reach microsecond radiative rates, matching those to organometallic counterparts, thus introducing the 5th generation of environmentally friendly and inexpensive OLEDs. For the first time, the results of this proposal will define the state-of-the-art in understanding NIR and RTP OLEDs coupled with microcavity to enhance their emission rate, outcoupling, and operational stability.