Micro-optical resonator type organic electroluminescent device

• US 5,780,174 A
• Filed: 10/25/1996
• Issued: 07/14/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 10/27/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toyota Chuo Kenkyusho (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toyota Chuo Kenkyusho (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Tokito, Shizuo, Noda, Koji, Taga, Yasunori
• Primary Examiner(s): McCamish, Marion E.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Juska, Cheryl
• Application Number:
  US08/736,726
• Time in Patent Office: 627 Days
• Field of Search: 428/690, 428/917, 313/500, 313/507, 313/509, 372/92, 372/98, 372/99, 372/102
• US Class Current: 428/690
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 33/12 Light sources with substantially two-dimensional radiating surfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 33/22 characterised by the chemical or physical composition or the arrangement of auxiliary dielectric or reflective layers
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 50/852 comprising a resonant cavity structure, e.g. Bragg reflector pair
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 428/917 Electroluminescent

Abstract

A micro-optical resonator type organic electroluminescent device utilizing an organic electroluminescent material high in emission efficiency but broad in emission spectrum width, has a narrow half bandwidth in the emission peak and a superior forward directivity and an excellent monochromaticity in light not separate into components, wherein a micro-optical resonator is formed by a multi-layered mirror and a metal mirror. The optical length of the micro-optical resonator, calculated from the total thickness and the refractive index of a transparent conductive layer and a luminous layer placed between the multi-layered mirror and the metal mirror and also from the light penetration depth into the multi-layered mirror, is 1.5 times the wavelength of a desired light emitted from the device, and the desired light is set on the short wavelength side of the emission spectrum of the electroluminescent material.

Claims

1. A micro-optical resonator organic electroluminescent device comprising:

a multi-layered mirror having two alternately laminated layers with different refractive indexes;

a transparent conductive layer as an anode formed on said multi-layered mirror;

an organic compound layer of a single layer or a plurality of layers formed on said transparent conductive layer; and

a metal mirror, as a cathode, capable of reflecting light, said multi-layered mirror and said metal mirror forming a micro-optical resonator for enhancing light output from said organic compound layer,

wherein an optical length L of the micro-optical resonator is such that radiation from the micro-optical resonator has a single mode spectrum free of low mode components, said optical length L of said micro-optical resonator is given by the equation set forth below which takes into account the penetration depth of light into the inside of said multi-layered mirror, ##EQU3## where λ

is the wavelength of a resonating light, neff is the effective refractive index of the multi-layered mirror, Δ

n is in the difference of the refractive indexes of the two layers in the multi-layered mirror, ni and di are the refractive index and the total thickness of the organic compound and the transparent conductive layer, and θ

is the angle of the light incident on an interface between organic compound layers or between an organic compound layer and a transparent conductive layer, with respect to the normal to the interface, wherein the optical length L is 1.5 times a required emission wavelength.

2. A micro-optical resonator organic electroluminescent device according to claim 1, wherein the total thickness of said transparent conductive layer and said organic compound layer is 150 nm or less.

3. A micro-optical resonator organic electroluminescent device according to claim 1, wherein an uppermost layer of said multi-layered mirror is formed of said transparent conductive layer, and said uppermost transparent conductive layer works as a part of said multi-layered mirror and also serves as said transparent conductive layer.

4. A micro-optical resonator organic electroluminescent device according to claim 1, wherein a required emission wavelength is less than a peak wavelength λ

m of an emission spectrum of an electroluminescent material to be used.

5. A micro-optical resonator organic electroluminescent device according to claim 4, wherein the required emission wavelength is in a range from (λ

m-10) nm to (λ

m-50) nm.

6. A micro-optical resonator organic electroluminescent device according to claim 1, wherein said organic compound layer is any of a single-layer structure of a luminous layer, a two-layer structure of a hole transport layer and a luminous layer, or a luminous layer and an electron transport layer, or a three-layer structure of a hole transport layer, a luminous layer and an electron transport layer.

7. A micro-optical resonator organic electroluminescent device according to claim 1, wherein the optical length of each layer of said multi-layered mirror is 1/4 of the central wavelength of a stop band.

8. A micro-optical resonator organic electroluminescent device according to claim 1, wherein said multi-layered mirror is formed by alternately laminating two layers with different refractive indexes, said layers being formed of oxides, nitrides, or semiconductors, or a combination of these materials.

9. A micro-optical resonator organic electroluminescent device according to claim 8, wherein said multi-layered mirror is formed by any of the combinations of TiO₂ and SiO₂, SiN_x and SiO₂, Ta₂ O₅ and SiO₂, or GaAs and GaInAs.

10. A micro-optical resonator organic electroluminescent device according to claim 1, wherein said transparent conductive layer is formed of Pt, Au, Ni, Cu, Ag, Ru, Cr, ITO, SnO₂, In₂ O₃ or ZnO, or any composite of these materials.

11. A micro-optical resonator organic electroluminescent service according to claim 1, wherein said metal mirror is formed of Al, Mg, Ca, Li, Na, Ag, or Y, or an alloy of those metals.

12. A micro-optical resonator organic electroluminescent device comprising:

a multi-layered mirror having two alternately laminated layers with different refractive indexes;

a transparent conductive layer as an anode formed on said multi-layered mirror;

an organic compound layer of a single layer or a plurality of layers formed on said transparent conductive layer; and

a metal mirror, as a cathode, capable of reflecting light, said multi-layered mirror and said metal mirror forming a micro-optical resonator for enhancing light output from said organic compound layer,

wherein an optical length L of the micro-optical resonator is such that radiation from the micro-optical resonator has a single mode spectrum free of low mode components, said optical length L of said micro-optical resonator is given by the equation set forth below which takes into account the penetration depth of light into the inside of said multi-layered mirror, ##EQU4## where λ

is the wavelength of a resonating light, neff is the effective refractive index of the multi-layered mirror, Δ

n is in the difference of the refractive indexes of the two layers in the multi-layered mirror, ni and di are the refractive index and the total thickness of the organic compound and the transparent conductive layer, and θ

is the angle of the light incident on an interface between organic compound layers or between an organic compound layer and a transparent conductive layer, with respect to the normal to the interface, wherein the optical length L is 1.5 times a required emission wavelength, and wherein the required emission wavelength is in a range from (λ

m-10) nm to (λ

m-50) nm.