Light-emitting element

• US 8,853,680 B2
• Filed: 03/26/2012
• Issued: 10/07/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Yamazaki, Shunpei, Seo, Satoshi, Shitagaki, Satoko, Ohsawa, Nobuharu, Inoue, Hideko, Kadoma, Hiroshi, Osaka, Harue
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Jae
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mirsalahuddin, Junaiden
• Application Number:
  US13/429,560
• Publication Number:
  US 20120248421A1
• Time in Patent Office: 925 Days
• Field of Search: 257/13, 257/40, 257/66, 257/72, 257 79-103, 257/223, 257/227, 257/291, 257/292, 257/439, 257/443, 257642-643, 257/655, 257/759, 257/918, 257/E27.1, 257/E27.125, 257/E27.112, 257/E29.117, 257/E29.145, 257/E29.147, 257/E29.151, 257/E29.182, 257/E29.202, 257E29273-E29299, 257/E29.314, 257/E29.32, 257/E23.016, 257/E21.211, 257E33001-E33077, 257/E25.028, 257/E25.032, 257E51001-E51052, 257E25008-E25009, 438/82, 438/99, 438/149, 438/486, 438 22- 47, 438/69, 438/493, 438/503, 438/507, 438/956
• US Class Current: 257/40
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 2101/10 Triplet emission
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 2101/27 Combination of fluorescent and phosphorescent emission
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 2101/80 Composition varying spatially, e.g. having a spatial gradient
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 2101/90 Multiple hosts in the emissive layer
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 50/11 characterised by the electroluminescent [EL] layers
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 50/13 comprising stacked EL layers within one EL unit
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 50/15 Hole transporting layers
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 50/16 Electron transporting layers
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/32 Stacked devices having two or more layers, each emitting at different wavelengths
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 85/342 comprising iridium
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 85/631 Amine compounds having at least two aryl rest on at least one amine-nitrogen atom, e.g. triphenylamine
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 85/636 comprising heteroaromatic hydrocarbons as substituents on the nitrogen atom
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 85/657 Polycyclic condensed heteroaromatic hydrocarbons
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 85/6572 comprising only nitrogen in the heteroaromatic polycondensed ring system, e.g. phenanthroline or carbazole
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 85/6576 comprising only sulfur in the heteroaromatic polycondensed ring system, e.g. benzothiophene

Abstract

A light-emitting element having extremely high efficiency of approximately 25% is provided. The light-emitting element includes a light-emitting layer which contains a phosphorescent guest, an n-type host, and a p-type host, where the light-emitting layer is interposed between an n-type layer including the n-type host and a p-type layer including the p-type host, and where the n-type host and the p-type host are able to form an exciplex in the light-emitting layer. The light-emitting element exhibits an extremely high emission efficiency (power efficiency of 74.3 lm/W, external quantum efficiency of 24.5%, energy efficiency of 19.3%) at a low driving voltage (2.6 V) at which luminance of 1200 cd/m² is attainable.

Claims

1. A light-emitting element comprising:

a first electrode;

a hole-injection layer over the first electrode;

a first layer over the hole-injection layer, the first layer containing a first organic compound which has a hole-transport property;

a light-emitting layer over the first layer, the light-emitting layer containing a phosphorescent compound, the first organic compound, and a second organic compound which has an electron-transport property;

a second layer over the light-emitting layer, the second layer containing the second organic compound;

an electron-injection layer over the second layer; and

a second electrode over the electron-injection layer,

wherein the first organic compound and the second organic compound are selected so that an exciplex is formed therebetween, and

wherein the phosphorescent compound is an organometallic complex whose absorption originating from a triplet metal-to-ligand charge transfer transition overlaps with an emission of the exciplex.

2. The light-emitting element according to claim 1, wherein the phosphorescent compound contains iridium.

3. The light-emitting element according to claim 1, wherein the first organic compound is an aromatic amine or a carbazole derivative.

4. The light-emitting element according to claim 1, wherein the second organic compound has a π

-electron deficient heteroaromatic ring.

5. The light-emitting element according to claim 4, wherein the π

-electron deficient heteroaromatic ring is a 6-membered ring having, as a constituting element of the ring, an element whose electronegativity is greater than that of carbon.

6. The light-emitting element according to claim 4, wherein the π

-electron deficient heteroaromatic ring is benzoquinoxaline.

7. The light-emitting element according to claim 1, further comprising an electron-transport layer between the second electrode and the second layer.

8. The light-emitting element according to claim 1,

wherein the first layer further contains the second organic compound, and

wherein, in the first layer, a concentration of the second organic compound changes in a direction from the first electrode to the light-emitting layer.

9. The light-emitting element according to claim 1,

wherein the second layer further contains the first organic compound, and

wherein, in the second layer, a concentration of the first organic compound changes in a direction from the second electrode to the light-emitting layer.

10. The light-emitting element according to claim 1, wherein, in the light-emitting layer, a concentration of the first organic compound and a concentration of the second organic compound change in a direction from the first layer to the second layer.

11. An electronic device comprising the light-emitting element according to claim 1.

12. A lighting device comprising the light-emitting element according to claim 1.