Color-tunable OLED lighting device

• US 9,142,595 B2
• Filed: 10/18/2013
• Issued: 09/22/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/18/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: OLEDWorks LLC
• Original Assignee: OLEDWorks LLC
• Inventors: Hamer, John W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Such, Matthew W
• Assistant Examiner(s): Naraghi, Ali
• Application Number:
  US14/056,943
• Publication Number:
  US 20150108917A1
• Time in Patent Office: 704 Days
• Field of Search: 257/40
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/60 Circuit arrangements for operating LEDs comprising organic material, e.g. for operating organic light-emitting diodes [OLED] or polymer light-emitting diodes [PLED]
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 2101/40 Interrelation of parameters between multiple constituent active layers or sublayers, e.g. HOMO values in adjacent layers
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 50/11 characterised by the electroluminescent [EL] layers
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 50/19 Tandem OLEDs
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/32 Stacked devices having two or more layers, each emitting at different wavelengths

Abstract

A color-tunable OLED device comprising: a charge-carrying cathode layer and a charge-carrying anode layer disposed parallel to each other; at least a first organic light-emitting unit and a second organic light-emitting unit disposed between the cathode and anode; and at least one charge-generating layer disposed between the cathode and anode, wherein the charge-generating layer is a charge-carrying layer of lesser lateral conductivity than the anode and cathode, and said charge-generating layer is electrically connected without additional circuit elements to another charge-carrying layer and disposed such that at least one organic light-emitting unit is wedged between two directly-connected charge-carrying layers, and at least one organic light-emitting unit is not thusly wedged.

Claims

1. A color-tunable OLED device comprising:

a. a charge-carrying cathode layer and a charge-carrying anode layer disposed parallel to each other;

b. at least a first organic light-emitting unit and a second organic light-emitting unit disposed between the charge-carrying cathode layer and the charge-carrying anode layer; and

c. at least one charge-generating layer disposed between the charge-carrying cathode layer and the charge-carrying anode layer, wherein the charge-generating layer is a charge-carrying layer of lesser lateral conductivity than the charge-carrying anode layer and the charge-carrying cathode layer, and said charge-generating layer is electrically connected without additional circuit elements to another charge-carrying layer and disposed such that at least the first organic light-emitting unit or the second organic light-emitting unit is wedged between the electrically connected charge-generating layer and the another charge-carrying layer, and at least the first organic light-emitting unit or the second organic light-emitting unit is not wedged between the electrically connected charge-generating layer and the another charge-carrying layer,

wherein the another charge-carrying layer is the charge-carrying cathode layer or the charge-carrying anode layer.

2. The color-tunable OLED device of claim 1 wherein the lateral conductivity of the charge-generating layer is greater than a lateral conductivity of the first and second organic light-emitting units.

3. The color-tunable OLED device of claim 2 wherein a resistivity of the charge-generating layer is in a range from 100 to 3000 ohms/square.

4. The color-tunable OLED device of claim 3 wherein the lateral conductivity of the charge-generating layer is consistent with a first characteristic that, at a first light-producing voltage, a lateral voltage change across the charge-generating layer is less than or equal to a practical threshold voltage of the wedged organic light-emitting unit, such that vertical current substantially only flows through, and light is substantially only emitted by, the non-wedged organic light-emitting unit.

5. The color-tunable OLED device of claim 4 wherein the lateral conductivity of the charge-generating layer is consistent with a second characteristic that, at a second light-producing voltage greater than the first light-producing voltage, a lateral voltage change across the charge-generating layer is greater than the practical threshold voltage of the wedged organic light-emitting unit, such that vertical current flows through, and light is emitted by, at least a portion of the wedged organic light-emitting unit.

6. The color-tunable OLED device of claim 1 wherein the charge-generating layer comprises a metal, a metal oxide, or a conductive doping material in a less conductive material.

7. The color-tunable OLED device of claim 6 wherein the charge-generating layer comprises silver, calcium, indium-tin oxide, zinc oxide, or molybdenum oxide.

8. The color-tunable OLED device of claim 6 wherein the conductivity of the charge generating layer varies based on a thickness of the layer, or a percentage of conductive doping material, or both.

9. The color-tunable OLED device of claim 1 wherein the device is connected to and controlled by a control circuit that includes a variable voltage source.

10. The color-tunable OLED device of claim 9 wherein the control circuit further includes a pulse-width modulating unit.

11. The color-tunable OLED device of claim 1 wherein the first organic light-emitting unit provides light in a selected first portion of the visible spectrum, and the second organic light-emitting unit provides light in a selected second portion of the visible spectrum.

12. The color-tunable OLED device of claim 11 wherein the selected first portion of the visible spectrum and the selected second portion of the visible spectrum are complementary colors that together can produce white light.

13. The color-tunable OLED device of claim 1 further including a third light-emitting unit and a second charge-generating layer disposed between the charge-carrying cathode layer and the charge-carrying anode layer.

14. The color-tunable OLED device of claim 13 wherein the charge-generating layer is electrically connected to the second charge-generating layer, and neither the charge-generating layer nor the second charge-generating layer is electrically connected to the charge-carrying cathode layer or the charge-carrying anode layer.

15. The color-tunable OLED device of claim 13 wherein the charge-generating layer is electrically connected to the second charge-generating layer and to the charge-carrying cathode layer or the charge-carrying anode layer.

16. The color-tunable OLED device of claim 13 wherein the charge-generating layer is electrically connected to the charge-carrying cathode layer on the charge-carrying anode layer, and the second charge-generating layer is not connected to the another charge-carrying layer.

17. The color-tunable OLED device of claim 13 wherein the charge-generating layer is electrically connected to one of the charge-carrying cathode layer and the charge-carrying anode layer, and the second charge-generating layer is connected to the charge-carrying cathode layer or the charge-carrying anode layer, whichever is other than the one of the charge-carrying cathode layer and the charge-carrying anode layer.

18. The color-tunable OLED device of claim 13 wherein a lateral conductivity of the second charge-generating layer is different from the lateral conductivity of the charge-generating layer.

19. The color-tunable OLED device of claim 13 wherein the first organic light-emitting unit provides light in a selected first portion of the visible spectrum, the second organic light-emitting unit provides light in a selected second portion of the visible spectrum, and the third organic light-emitting unit provides light in a selected third portion of the visible spectrum.

20. The color-tunable OLED device of claim 19 wherein the selected portions of the visible spectrum are complementary colors that together can produce white light.

21. The color-tunable OLED device of claim 13 wherein the first and third organic light-emitting units provide light in a selected first portion of the visible spectrum, and the second organic light-emitting unit provides light in a selected second portion of the visible spectrum.

22. The color-tunable OLED device of claim 21 wherein the selected first portion of the visible spectrum and the selected second portion of the visible spectrum are complementary colors that together can produce white light.

23. The color-tunable OLED device of claim 13 wherein the charge-carrying cathode layer and the charge-carrying anode layer are electrodes, wherein the charge-generating layer and the second charge-generating layer are charge-generating layers, and wherein light emissions for the first, second, and third organic light-emitting units have different areas, as defined by overlap of the electrodes and the charge-generating layers.

24. The color-tunable OLED device of claim 1 wherein the electrical connection of the charge-generating layer to the another charge-carrying layer is located a selected distance outside of an emitting area of the device.

25. The color-tunable OLED device of claim 1 wherein the charge-carrying cathode layer and the charge-carrying anode layer are electrodes, and wherein light emissions for the first and second organic light-emitting units have different areas, as defined by overlap of the electrodes and the charge-generating layer.

26. The color-tunable OLED device of claim 1 further including a diffuser on a light-emitting side of the device.