Organic electroluminescent device

• US 6,144,165 A
• Filed: 02/04/1999
• Issued: 11/07/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 02/06/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: US Philips Corporation (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: US Philips Corporation (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Liedenbaum, Coen Th. H. F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Wong, Don
• Assistant Examiner(s): VO, TUYET THI
• Application Number:
  US09/244,210
• Time in Patent Office: 642 Days
• Field of Search: 315/169.1, 315/169.2, 315/169.3, 315/169.4, 315/504, 315/506, 345/82, 313/504, 313/506, 313/291
• US Class Current: 315/169.3
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2300/0465 Improved aperture ratio, e.g. by size reduction of the pixel circuit, e.g. for improving the pixel density or the maximum displayable luminance or brightness
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2310/0256 with the purpose of reversing the voltage across a light emitting or modulating element within a pixel
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/0626 for control of overall brightness
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2360/144 the light being ambient light
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/2011 by amplitude modulation
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3208 organic, e.g. using organic light-emitting diodes [OLED]
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3406 Control of illumination source illumination devices structurally associated with liquid crystal cells G02F1/1336
• 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: Y02B 20/30 Semiconductor lamps, e.g. solid state lamps [SSL] light emitting diodes [LED] or organic LED [OLED]

Abstract

Electroluminescent device having an active layer of an electroluminescent material situated between two patterns of electrodes at least one of which is transparent to light emitted by the active layer, one of the patterns comprising a material for injecting charge carriers for emission a control for supplying bias voltage across a part of the active layer or setting bias current through the part of the active layer, means for applying a voltage in the reverse direction across part of the active layer, for measuring current associated with voltage applied in the reverse direction and for varying bias voltage or current depending on the measured current value.

Claims

1. An electroluminescent device comprising a layer of an electroluminescent material with an active layer of an organic material, which layer is situated between a first and a second pattern of electrodes, at least one of the two patterns being transparent to light to be emitted by the active layer, and the first pattern comprising a material which can be suitably be used to inject charge carriers by applying a bias voltage or a bias current for emitting, and said device comprising a control unit for applying the bias voltage across a part of the active layer or for setting the bias current through the part of the active layer, characterized in that the control unit comprises a means for applying a voltage in the reverse direction across a part of the active layer, for measuring current value associated with the voltage applied in the reverse direction, and dependent upon said measured current value, for varying the bias voltage or bias current.

2. An electroluminescent device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the bias voltage is determined by means of the difference between current values measured across different parts of the active layer, one of the two parts being shielded from incident light.

3. A display device comprising an electroluminescent device as claimed in claim 1.

4. An electroluminescent device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the current is measured repetitively.

5. An electroluminescent device as claimed in claim 4, characterized in that the current is alternately measured across different parts of the active layer.

6. An electroluminescent device as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that the bias voltage is determined by means of the average of the current values measured across different parts of the active layer.