The present disclosure relates generally to organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays.
A wide variety of OLED displays are known. Some OLED displays have a pixelated OLED display panel including an array of individually addressable OLED pixels or subpixels. Such pixelated OLED displays are becoming increasingly popular for use in various electronic devices such as for mobile phones, televisions, and similar end uses. Some OLED displays, referred to as “bottom emitting” OLED displays, emit light through a semi-transparent substrate on which the OLED display is fabricated. Others, referred to as “top emitting” OLED displays, emit light in the opposite direction, i.e., away from the substrate on which the OLED display is fabricated.
In various configurations of OLED displays, each of the red, green, and blue subpixels may exhibit color shifts as a function of viewing angle, especially when the OLED subpixels are optimized to achieve high axial efficiency. Thus, there is a tradeoff between the axial efficiency and the color shift of the subpixel. Commonly, axial efficiency is sacrificed to achieve lower color shift in the OLED display. However, such tradeoffs may result in lesser efficiency and non-uniform distribution of colors.
Generally, the present disclosure relates to organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays. The present disclosure may also relate to OLED displays with enhanced color uniformity and high axial efficiency.
In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the OLED display includes a pixelated OLED display panel including a plurality of pixels. Each pixel includes a plurality of subpixels, wherein each subpixel has a plurality of OLED layers. The OLED display includes a first reflective electrode and a second reflective electrode configured to reflect at least a portion of incident light. The OLED display further includes a first semi-reflective electrode and a second semi-reflective electrode disposed opposite to the first reflective electrode and the second reflective electrode, respectively. The first and second semi-reflective electrodes are configured to allow at least a portion of incident light to pass therethrough. The OLED display includes a first stack having a first emission layer disposed between the first reflective electrode and the first semi-reflective electrode. The first emission layer emits red light, green light, or blue light. The first stack includes a first layer disposed between the first emission layer and one of the first reflective electrode or the first semi-reflective electrode. The OLED display includes a second stack spaced apart from the first stack. The second stack has a second emission layer disposed between the second reflective electrode and the second semi-reflective electrode. The second stack emits light of a different angular spectral distribution as that emitted by the first stack. The second stack includes a second layer disposed between the second emission layer and one of the second reflective electrode or the second semi-reflective electrode. A thickness of the second layer is different from a thickness of the first layer such that light emitted by the first emission layer resonates within the first stack at a first degree and light emitted by the second emission layer resonates within the second stack at a second degree, the first degree being greater than the second degree.
In some embodiments, the first layer is a hole transport layer disposed between the first reflective electrode and the first emission layer. In some embodiments, the second layer is a hole transport layer disposed between the second reflective electrode and the second emission layer.
In some embodiments, the first layer is an electron transport layer disposed between the first semi-reflective electrode and the first emission layer. In some embodiments, the second layer is an electron transport layer disposed between the second semi-reflective electrode and the second emission layer.
In some embodiments, the thickness of the first layer is from about 95 nm to about 114 nm. In some embodiments, the thickness of the second layer is from about 115 nm to about 175 nm.
In some embodiments, the first emission layer emits blue light. In some embodiments, a ratio of the thickness of the second layer to the thickness of the first layer is from about 1.3 to about 1.6.
In some embodiments, the first emission layer emits green light. In some embodiments, the ratio of the thickness of the second layer to the thickness of the first layer is from about 1.25 to about 1.35.
In some embodiments, the first emission layer emits red light. In some embodiments, the ratio of the thickness of the second layer to the thickness of the first layer is from about 0.8 to about 1.25.
In some embodiments, the OLED display is of a top emission type. In some embodiments, the OLED display includes a driver provided for each of the first and the second stacks, wherein each driver operates independently.
The disclosure may be more completely understood in consideration of the following detailed description in connection with the following figures. The figures are not necessarily drawn to scale. Like numbers used in the figures refer to like components. However, it will be understood that the use of a number to refer to a component in a given figure is not intended to limit the component in another figure labeled with the same number.
In the following description, reference is made to the accompanying figures that form a part thereof and in which various embodiments are shown by way of illustration. It is to be understood that other embodiments are contemplated and may be made without departing from the scope or spirit of the present disclosure. The following detailed description, therefore, is not to be taken in a limiting sense.
The present disclosure relates to an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display having a first stack and a second stack of layers. The second stack emits light of a different angular spectral distribution as compared to that of the first stack. This is achieved by designing the first and second stacks such that light emitted by the first stack resonates and light emitted by the second stack does not resonate. Specifically, the first and the second stacks include a first layer and a second layer, respectively, wherein a thickness of the second layer is different from that of the first layer to achieve resonance in the first stack and non-resonance in the second stack. The combination of light emitted from the first and the second stacks may result in lower color shift and higher axial efficiency. The OLED display can be used in various devices, such as mobile phones, televisions, and so forth.
The term “resonate”, as used herein, refers to constructive interference of light within a subpixel of the OLED display. Specifically, the subpixel may be designed such that, for a particular wavelength of light emitted within the stack, distance between the electrodes may be such that light beams constructively interfere with each other resulting in enhanced light intensity. The term “does not resonate”, as used herein, means that light within a stack does not constructively interfere and light intensity does not increase.
Referring to
In some embodiments, the first and second reflective electrodes 106a, 108a and the first and second semi-reflective electrodes 110a, 112a are formed using conducting materials, such as metals, alloys, metallic compounds, conductive metal oxides, conductive dispersions, and conductive polymers, including, for example, gold, silver, nickel, chromium, barium, platinum, palladium, aluminum, calcium, titanium, indium tin oxide (ITO), fluorine tin oxide (FTO), antimony tin oxide (ATO), indium zinc oxide (IZO), poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)/poly(styrene sulfonate), polyaniline, other conducting polymers, alloys thereof, or combinations thereof. The first and second reflective electrodes 106a, 108a and the first and second semi-reflective electrodes 110a, 112a can be single layers of conducting materials or can include multiple layers of conducting materials.
The material coating the substrate of the first and second reflective electrodes 106a, 108a may be electrically conductive. In some embodiments, a material for coating the first and second reflective electrodes 106a, 108a is indium tin oxide (ITO). In addition to ITO, suitable materials may include indium oxide, fluorine tin oxide (FTO), zinc oxide, indium zinc oxide (IZO), vanadium oxide, zinc-tin oxide, gold, platinum, palladium, aluminum, silver, other high work function metals, and combinations thereof. In one embodiment, the first and second reflective electrodes 106a, 108a have an optically thick metallic layer of aluminum (Al) coated with a thin layer of indium tin oxide (ITO). The first and second reflective electrodes 106a, 108a may have thicknesses in the order of about 100 nanometers (nm). However, the thicknesses of the first reflective electrode 106a and/or the second reflective electrode 108a may be varied as per application requirements.
The first and second semi-reflective electrodes 110a, 112a may be formed using low work function metals, such as aluminum, barium, calcium, samarium, magnesium, silver, magnesium/silver alloys, lithium, ytterbium, and calcium/magnesium alloys. In one embodiment, the first and second semi-reflective electrodes 110a, 112a may be made of magnesium (Mg) and silver (Ag). As an example, the composition of the first and second semi-reflective electrodes 110a, 112a may be about 90% Mg by weight and about 10% Ag by weight. The first and second semi-reflective electrodes 110a, 112a may have thicknesses of the order of about 10 nm. However, the thicknesses of the first semi-reflective electrode 110a and/or the second semi-reflective electrode 112a may be varied as per application requirements.
The first and second subpixels 102a, 104a include a first stack 114a and a second stack 116a, respectively. The second stack 116a is spaced apart from the first stack 114a. The first and second stacks 114a, 116a have one or more layers. The first stack 114a includes a first emission layer 118a disposed between the first reflective electrode 106a and the first semi-reflective electrode 110a. The second stack 116a includes a second emission layer 120a disposed between the second reflective electrode 108a and the second semi-reflective electrode 112a. The first emission layer 118a may include one or more organic layers tailored to emit light of a desired wavelength in response to an electric voltage applied between the first reflective electrode 106a and the first semi-reflective electrode 110a.
In the illustrated embodiment, the OLED display 100a is a top emitting type OLED display wherein the first reflective electrode 106a is disposed below the first emission layer 118a and light is extracted from top via the first semi-reflective electrode 110a. In alternative embodiments, the OLED display 100a may be arranged in other configurations, such as bottom emitting type or dual emitting type. In other words, embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited by the emission type of the OLED display 100a.
The first and second emission layers 118a, 120a may include a light-emitting material, which is an electroluminescent material that emits light when electrically activated. In one embodiment, the first and second emission layers 118a, 120a are configured to emit red light, green light, or blue light. Red, green, and blue light typically have wavelengths in the range of about 600 to about 700 nm, about 500 to about 560 nm, and about 430 to about 490 nm, respectively. In other embodiments, the first and second emission layers 118a, 120a may be configured to emit light of other colors such as, but not limited to, cyan, magenta, yellow, and orange. In one embodiment, the first and second emission layers 118a, 120a may have a thicknesses of about 20 nm.
The first and second emission layers 118a, 120a may include one or more light emitting polymers (LEP) or other light-emitting materials, such as small molecule (SM) light-emitting compounds. LEP materials may be conjugated polymeric or oligomeric molecules that have sufficient film-forming properties for solution processing. As used herein, “conjugated polymers or oligomeric molecules” refer to polymers or oligomers having a delocalized π-electron system along the polymer backbone. Such polymers or oligomers are semiconducting and can support positive and negative charge carriers along the polymeric or oligomeric chain. Exemplary LEP materials include poly(phenylenevinylenes), poly(para-phenylenes), polyfluorenes, and co-polymers or blends thereof. Suitable LEPs can also be doped with a small molecule light-emitting compound, dispersed with fluorescent or phosphorescent dyes or photoluminescent materials, blended with active or non-active materials, dispersed with active or non-active materials, and so forth.
SM materials are generally non-polymeric, organic, or organometallic molecular materials that can be used in OLED displays and devices as emitter materials, charge transport materials, dopants in emission layers (e.g., to control the emitted color) or charge transport layers, and the like. Exemplary SM materials include N,N′-bis(3-methylphenyl)-N,N′-diphenylbenzidine (TPD) and metal chelate compounds such as tris(8-hydroxyquinoline)aluminum (Alq3) and biphenylato bis(8-hydroxyquinolato)aluminum (BAlq).
In one embodiment, the first stack 114a is disposed between the first reflective electrode 106a and the first semi-reflective electrode 110a. The first stack 114a includes a first layer 122a disposed between the first emission layer 118a and the first reflective electrode 106a. The second stack 116a is disposed between the second reflective electrode 108a and the second semi-reflective electrode 112a. The second stack 116a includes a second layer 124a disposed between the second emission layer 120a and the second reflective electrode 108a. The first and second layers 122a, 124a may be a hole transport layer, a hole injection layer, an electron blocking layer, a buffer layer, or a combination thereof. The first and second emission layers 118a, 120a may be an electron transport layer, an electron injection layer, a hole blocking layer, an emissive layer, a buffer layer, or a combination thereof.
In one embodiment, the first layer 122a is a hole transport layer disposed between the first reflective electrode 106a and the first emission layer 118a. Within the first stack 114a, the hole transport layer may facilitate the injection of holes from the first reflective electrode 106a and their migration towards a recombination zone within the first emission layer 118a. The hole transport layer may further act as a barrier for the passage of electrons to the first reflective electrode 106a. Further, the second layer 124a may be a hole transport layer disposed between the second reflective electrode 108a and the second emission layer 120a. The hole transport layer can include, for example, a diamine derivative such as N,N′-bis(3-methylphenyl)-N,N′-bis(phenyl)benzidine (TPD), N,N′-bis(2-naphthyl)-N,N′-bis(phenyl)benzidine (beta-NPB), N,N′-bis(1-naphthyl)-N,N′-bis(phenyl)benzidine (NPB), or the like; or a triarylamine derivative such as, 4,4′,4″-tris(N,N-diphenylamino)triphenylamine (TDATA), 4,4′,4″-tris(N-3-methylphenyl-N-phenylamino)triphenylamine (MTDATA), 4,4′,4″-tri(N-phenoxazinyl)triphenylamine (TPOTA), 1,3,5-tris(4-diphenylaminophenyl)benzene (TDAPB), or the like.
The first subpixel 102b includes a first stack 114b which is disposed between the first reflective electrode 106b and the first semi-reflective electrode 110b. The first stack 114b includes a first layer 118b disposed between a first emission layer 122b and the first semi-reflective electrode 110b. The second subpixel 104b includes a second stack 116b which is disposed between the second reflective electrode 108b and the second semi-reflective electrode 112b. The second stack 116b includes a second layer 120b disposed between a second emission layer 124b and the second semi-reflective electrode 112b. The first and second layers 118b, 120b may be an electron transport layer, an electron injection layer, a hole blocking layer, a buffer layer, or a combination thereof. The first and second emission layers 122b, 124b may be a hole transport layer, a hole injection layer, an electron blocking layer, an emissive layer, a buffer layer, or a combination thereof.
Within the first stack 114b, the electron transport layer may facilitate the injection of electrons from the first semi-reflective electrode 110b and their migration towards the recombination zone within the first emission layer 122b. The electron transport layer may further act as a barrier for the passage of holes to the first semi-reflective electrode 110b. Further, the second layer 120b may be an electron transport layer disposed between the second semi-reflective electrode 112b and the second emission layer 124b.
The electron transport layer can be formed using the organometallic compound, such as tris(8-hydroxyquinolato) aluminum (Alq3) and biphenylato bis(8-hydroxyquinolato)aluminum (BAlq). Other examples of electron transport materials useful in electron transport layer include 1,3-bis[5-(4-(1,1-dimethylethyl)phenyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-yl]benzene; 2-(biphenyl-4-yl)-5-(4-(1,1-dimethylethyl)phenyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole; 9,10-di(2-naphthyl)anthracene (ADN); 2-(4-biphenyl)-5-(4-t-butylphenyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole; or 3-(4-biphenylyl)-4-phenyl-5-(4-tert-butylphenyl)-1,2,4-triazole (TAZ).
In the subpixel 102a, light emitted by the first emission layer 118a forms a micro cavity while reciprocating between the first reflective electrode 106a and the first semi-reflective electrode 110a. Similar micro cavities are also formed in the subpixels 104a, 102b, and 104b. The first stack 114a may be designed to exhibit resonance phenomenon wherein light beams may constructively interfere with each other. As a result, an optical intensity of light extracted from the first stack 114a may be enhanced. The subpixel 102a may be referred to as the tuned subpixel 102a in various embodiments of the present disclosure. A thickness of the first layer 122a may be designed such that light emitted by the first emission layer 118a resonates within the first stack 114a. In one embodiment, the thickness of the first layer 122a is from about 95 nm to about 114 nm.
In the subpixel 104a, the second stack 116a may be designed such that light beams do not constructively interfere with each other and resonance does not take place. Specifically, a thickness of the second layer 124a may be designed such that light emitted by the second emission layer 120a does not resonate within the second stack 116a. The subpixel 104a may be referred to as the detuned subpixel 104a in various embodiments of the present disclosure. The second stack 116a emits light of a different angular spectral distribution as compared to that of the first stack 114a. For example, light emitted by the second stack 116a may have a different distribution of brightness (or luminance) vs viewing angle or wavelength vs viewing angle as compared to that of the first stack 114a.
In some implementations, the light emitted by the first emission layer 118a resonates within the first stack 114a at a first degree and light emitted by the second emission layer 120a resonates within the second stack 116a at a second degree. In some implementations the first degree is greater than the second degree.
In some implementations, the light emitted by the first emission layer 118b resonates within the first stack 114b at a first degree and light emitted by the second emission layer 120b resonates within the second stack 116b at a second degree. In some implementations the first degree is greater than the second degree.
Referring to
The thicknesses of the first layer 122a and second layer 124a may depend on the color of light emitted by the first emission layers 118a and second emission layers 120a respectively. For instance, when the first and second emission layers 118a, 120a emit blue light, a ratio of the thickness of the second layer 124a to the thickness of the first layer 122a is from about 1.3 to about 1.6. Similarly, when the first and second emission layers 118a, 120a emit green light, a ratio of the thickness of the second layer 124a to the thickness of the first layer 122a is from about 1.25 to about 1.35. Further, when the first and second emission layers 118a, 120a emit red light, a ratio of the thickness of the second layer 124a to the thickness of the first layer 122a is from about 0.8 to about 1.25.
A combination of the detuned subpixel 104a and the tuned subpixel 102a may result in improved color uniformity and lower color-shift. For example, when the first stack 114a emits blue light, the light from the detuned subpixel 104a mixes with the blue light from the tuned subpixel 102a and the resultant blue light has better axial efficiency and lower color shift as compared to that from only the tuned subpixel 102a. Thus, color performance of the OLED display 100a is improved.
In some embodiments, the OLED display 100a includes a driver for each of the subpixels 102a, 104a. The driver may be configured to supply the electrical current required to drive the subpixels. In one embodiment, each of the drivers operate independently. The electrical current provided to the tuned subpixel 102a and the electrical current provided to the detuned subpixel 104a may be controlled independently of each other to achieve desired color shift and axial efficiency. Thus, the detuned subpixel 104a may provide an extra degree of freedom for controlling the OLED display 100a as compared to a standard OLED display.
Referring to
In various embodiments, the detuned subpixel 208 may be associated with the red subpixel 202 or the green subpixel 204. For example, the OLED display 200 may have RR′GB or RGG′B configurations. Furthermore, the OLED display 200 may include a plurality of detuned subpixels 208. For example, the OLED display 200 may include two detuned subpixels resulting in RR′GG′B, RR′GBB′, or RGG′BB′ configurations. In one embodiment, the OLED display 200 includes three detuned subpixels 208, one each for red subpixel 202, green subpixel 204, and blue subpixel 206 resulting in RR′GG′BB′ configuration. The aforementioned configurations may be required to simultaneously optimize the performance of multiple colors in the OLED display 200. Use of red, green, and blue color light in various embodiments of the present disclosure has been exemplary and it should be understood that light of other colors such as, but not limited to, cyan, magenta, yellow, and orange may also be used.
Unless otherwise indicated, all numbers expressing feature sizes, amounts, and physical properties used in the specification and claims are to be understood as being modified by the term “about.” Accordingly, unless indicated to the contrary, the numerical parameters set forth in the foregoing specification and attached claims are approximations that can vary depending upon the desired properties sought to be obtained by those skilled in the art utilizing the teachings disclosed herein.
Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that a variety of alternate and/or equivalent implementations can be substituted for the specific embodiments shown and described without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. This application is intended to cover any adaptations or variations of the specific embodiments discussed herein. Therefore, it is intended that this disclosure be limited only by the claims and the equivalents thereof.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/IB2020/054327 | 5/7/2020 | WO | 00 |
Number | Date | Country | |
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62846835 | May 2019 | US |