U.S. patent application number 11/116096 was filed with the patent office on 2006-11-02 for phosphorescent oled with mixed electron transport materials.
Invention is credited to Natasha Andrievsky, William J. Begley, Christopher T. Brown, Joseph C. Deaton, Tukaram K. Hatwar, Marina E. Kondakova.
Application Number | 20060246315 11/116096 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 37234807 |
Filed Date | 2006-11-02 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060246315 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Begley; William J. ; et
al. |
November 2, 2006 |
Phosphorescent oled with mixed electron transport materials
Abstract
An OLED device comprises, in sequence, an anode, a
light-emitting layer that comprises a phosphorescent light-emitting
organometallic compound, a hole-blocking layer, and a cathode, and
between the hole-blocking layer and the cathode, a further layer
containing: a) a first compound that has the lowest LUMO value of
the compounds in the layer, the amount being greater than or equal
to 10% by volume and less than 100% by volume of the layer; b) at
least one second compound that is a low voltage electron transport
material, exhibiting a higher LUMO value than the first compound,
the total amount of said compound(s) being less than or equal to
90% by volume and more than 0% by volume of the layer. Such a
device provides improved drive voltage.
Inventors: |
Begley; William J.;
(Webster, NY) ; Hatwar; Tukaram K.; (Penfield,
NY) ; Deaton; Joseph C.; (Rochester, NY) ;
Brown; Christopher T.; (Rochester, NY) ; Andrievsky;
Natasha; (Webster, NY) ; Kondakova; Marina E.;
(Kendall, NY) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Paul A. Leipold;Patend Legal Staff
Eastman Kodak Company
343 State Street
Rochester
NY
14650-2201
US
|
Family ID: |
37234807 |
Appl. No.: |
11/116096 |
Filed: |
April 27, 2005 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
428/690 ;
257/E51.043; 257/E51.044; 257/E51.049; 257/E51.05; 313/504;
313/506; 428/917 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01L 51/5036 20130101;
H01L 2251/308 20130101; H01L 51/0058 20130101; H05B 33/14 20130101;
C09K 2211/1059 20130101; H01L 51/0053 20130101; C09K 2211/1007
20130101; C09K 11/06 20130101; C09K 2211/107 20130101; C09K
2211/1044 20130101; C09K 2211/1088 20130101; H01L 51/0085 20130101;
Y10S 428/917 20130101; H01L 51/5016 20130101; C09K 2211/188
20130101; H01L 51/0081 20130101; C09K 2211/1014 20130101; H01L
51/0052 20130101; C09K 2211/1011 20130101; C09K 2211/1029 20130101;
C09K 2211/186 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
428/690 ;
428/917; 313/504; 313/506; 257/E51.049; 257/E51.05; 257/E51.043;
257/E51.044 |
International
Class: |
H01L 51/54 20060101
H01L051/54; H05B 33/12 20060101 H05B033/12 |
Claims
1. An OLED device comprising, in sequence, an anode, a
light-emitting layer that comprises a phosphorescent light-emitting
organometallic compound, a hole-blocking layer, and a cathode, and
between the hole-blocking layer and the cathode, a further layer
containing: a) a first compound that has the lowest LUMO value of
the compounds in the layer, the amount being greater than or equal
to 10% by volume and less than 100% by volume of the layer; b) at
least one second compound that is a low voltage electron transport
material, exhibiting a higher LUMO value than the first compound,
the total amount of said compound(s) being less than or equal to
90% by volume and more than 0% by volume of the layer.
2. The OLED device of claim 1 wherein said further layer is
adjacent to an electron-injecting layer, which is adjacent to the
cathode.
3. The OLED device of claim 1 wherein said further layer is
adjacent to the cathode.
4. The OLED device of claim 1 comprising a first compound and two
second compounds.
5. The OLED device of claim 1 wherein said further layer is a
non-emitting layer.
6. The OLED device of claim 1 wherein the first compound is present
in an amount of 40% to 90% by volume.
7. The OLED device of claim 1 wherein the first compound is present
in an amount of 50% to 80% by volume.
8. The OLED device of claim 1 wherein the first compound has a LUMO
value of -2.30 eV or lower.
9. The OLED device of claim 1 wherein the first compound has a LUMO
value of -2.50 eV or lower.
10. The OLED device of claim 1 wherein the first compound has a
LUMO value of -2.70 eV or lower.
11. The OLED device of claim 1 wherein the first compound is a
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon.
12. The OLED device of claim 1 wherein the first compound is
represented by Formula V: ##STR60## wherein: R.sub.1, R.sub.2,
R.sub.3, R.sub.4, R.sub.5, R.sub.6, R.sub.7, R.sub.8, R.sub.9,
R.sub.10, R.sub.11, and R.sub.12 are independently selected as
hydrogen or substituents; provided that any of the indicated
substituents may join to form further fused rings.
13. The OLED device of claim 12 wherein R.sub.1, R.sub.3, R.sub.4,
R.sub.7, R.sub.9, R.sub.10, represent hydrogen; R.sub.2 and R.sub.8
represent hydrogen or independently selected alkyl groups; R.sub.5,
R.sub.6, R.sub.11, and R.sub.12 represent independently selected
aryl groups.
14. The OLED device of claim 1 wherein the first compound is
represented by Formula VI: ##STR61## wherein: R.sub.13, R.sub.14,
R.sub.15 and R.sub.16 represent hydrogen or one or more
substituents selected from the following groups: Group 1: hydrogen,
alkyl and alkoxy groups typically having from 1 to 24 carbon atoms;
Group 2: a ring group, typically having from 6 to 20 carbon atoms;
Group 3: the atoms necessary to complete a carbocyclic fused ring
group such as naphthyl, anthracenyl, pyrenyl, and perylenyl groups,
typically having from 6 to 30 carbon atoms; Group 4: the atoms
necessary to complete a heterocyclic fused ring group such as
furyl, thienyl, pyridyl, and quinolinyl groups, typically having
from 5 to 24 carbon atoms; Group 5: an alkoxylamino, alkylamino,
and arylamino group typically having from 1 to 24 carbon atoms; and
Group 6: fluorine, chlorine, bromine and cyano radicals.
15. The OLED device of claim 1 wherein the second compound as a
test voltage no more than 50% higher than Alq.
16. The OLED device of claim 1 wherein the second compound has a
test voltage no more than 25% higher than Alq.
17. The OLED device of claim 1 wherein the second compound is
represented by Formula I: ##STR62## wherein M represents a metal; n
is an integer of from 1 to 4; and Z independently in each
occurrence represents the atoms completing a nucleus having at
least two fused aromatic rings.
18. The OLED device of claim 1 wherein the second compound is
represented by Formula II: (R.sup.S-Q).sub.2-M-O-L Formula II
wherein M is a metal or non-metal; Q in each occurrence represents
a substituted 8-quinolinolato ligand; R.sup.S represents an
8-quinolinolato ring substituent chosen to block sterically the
attachment of more than two substituted 8-quinolinolato ligands to
M; and L is a phenyl or aromatic fused ring moiety, which can be
substituted with hydrocarbon groups such that L has from 6 to 24
carbon atoms.
19. The OLED device of claim 1 wherein the second compound is
represented by Formula VII: ##STR63## wherein R.sub.17, R.sub.18,
R.sub.19, R.sub.20, R.sub.21, R.sub.22, R.sub.23 and R.sub.24 are
hydrogen or substituents; and provided that any of the indicated
substituents may join to form further fused rings.
20. The OLED device of claim 1 wherein the first compound is a
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon and the second compound is an
organometallic compound.
21. The OLED device of claim 1 wherein the first compound is a
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon having at least 3 fused rings and
the second compound is tris(8-quinolinolato)aluminum (III)
(Alq).
22. The OLED device of claim 1 wherein the first and second
compounds are selected from metal and non-metal chelated oxinoids,
anthracenes, bipyridyls, butadienes, imidazoles, phenanthrenes,
phenanthrolines, styrylarylenes, benzazoles,
buckministerfullerene-C.sub.60 (also known as buckyball or
fullerene-C.sub.60), tetracenes, xanthenes, perylenes, coumarins,
rhodamines, quinacridones, dicyanomethylenepyrans, thiopyrans,
polymethines, pyrylliums, fluoranthenes, periflanthrenes,
silacyclopentadienes or siloles, thiapyrylliums, triazines,
carbostyryls, metal and non-metal chelated bis(azinyl)amines, metal
and non-metal chelated bis(azinyl)methenes.
23. The OLED device of claim 1 wherein the phosphorescent
light-emitting material comprises an organometallic complex
comprising a metal and at least one ligand, wherein the metal is
selected from the group consisting of Ir, Rh, Ru, Pt, and Pd.
24. The device of claim 23 wherein the metal is Ir.
25. The device of claim 23 wherein at least one ligand comprises a
2-phenylpyridine group, a 1-phenylisoquinoline group, a
3-phenylisoquinoline group, a 1-phenylimidazo[1,2-a]pyridine, a
thiazole ring group that is fused with at least one aromatic ring
group, or an oxazole ring group that is fused with at least one
aromatic ring group.
26. The device of claim 1 wherein the hole-blocking layer comprises
bathocuproine (BCP) or
bis(2-methyl-8-quinolinolato)(4-phenylphenolato)Aluminum(III)
(Balq).
27. The OLED device of claim 1 wherein at least one additional
compound comprising a metallic material based on a metal having a
work function less than 4.2 eV, is present in said further
layer.
28. The device of claim 27 wherein the metallic material comprises
Li metal.
29. The device of claim 27 wherein the metallic material is present
at a level of 1 to 5% of the layer.
30. The device of claim 1 wherein the first compound is selected
from the group consisting of: ##STR64## ##STR65## ##STR66##
##STR67## ##STR68##
31. The device of claim 1 wherein the second compound is selected
from the group consisting of: ##STR69## ##STR70##
32. The device of claim 1 wherein the first compound is selected
from the group consisting of: ##STR71## ##STR72## and the second
compound is selected from the group consisting of: ##STR73##
##STR74##
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] Reference is made to commonly assigned U.S. Ser. Nos.
11/076,821 and 11/077,218 filed on Mar. 10, 2005, by William J.
Begley, et al., entitled "Organic Light-Emitting Devices With Mixed
Electron Transport Materials" the disclosure of which is
incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] This invention relates to an organic light-emitting diode
(OLED) electroluminescent (EL) device having a light-emitting layer
including a phosphorescent light-emitting material and a layer
between the light-emitting layer and the cathode containing a
mixture of at least two compounds.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] While organic electroluminescent (EL) devices have been
known for over two decades, their performance limitations have
represented a barrier to many desirable applications. In simplest
form, an organic EL device is comprised of an anode for hole
injection, a cathode for electron injection, and an organic medium
sandwiched between these electrodes to support charge recombination
that yields emission of light. These devices are also commonly
referred to as organic light-emitting diodes, or OLEDs.
Representative of earlier organic EL devices are Gurnee et al. U.S.
Pat. No. 3,172,862, issued Mar. 9, 1965; Gurnee U.S. Pat. No.
3,173,050, issued Mar. 9, 1965; Dresner, "Double Injection
Electroluminescence in Anthracene", RCA Review, 30, 322, (1969);
and Dresner U.S. Pat. No. 3,710,167, issued Jan. 9, 1973. The
organic layers in these devices, usually composed of a polycyclic
aromatic hydrocarbon, were very thick (much greater than 1 .mu.m).
Consequently, operating voltages were very high, often greater than
100V.
[0004] More recent organic EL devices include an organic EL element
consisting of extremely thin layers (e.g. <1.0 .mu.m) between
the anode and the cathode. Herein, the term "organic EL element"
encompasses the layers between the anode and cathode. Reducing the
thickness lowered the resistance of the organic layers and has
enabled devices that operate at much lower voltage. In a basic
two-layer EL device structure, described first in U.S. Pat. No.
4,356,429, one organic layer of the EL element adjacent to the
anode is specifically chosen to transport holes, and therefore is
referred to as the hole-transporting layer, and the other organic
layer is specifically chosen to transport electrons and is referred
to as the electron-transporting layer. Recombination of the
injected holes and electrons within the organic EL element results
in efficient electroluminescence.
[0005] There have also been proposed three-layer organic EL devices
that contain an organic light-emitting layer (LEL) between the
hole-transporting layer and electron-transporting layer, such as
that disclosed by C. Tang et al. (J. Applied Physics, Vol. 65, 3610
(1989)). The light-emitting layer commonly consists of a host
material doped with a guest material, otherwise known as a dopant.
Still further, there has been proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,769,292 a
four-layer EL element comprising a hole injecting layer (HIL), a
hole-transporting layer (HTL), a light-emitting layer (LEL) and an
electron-transporting/injecting layer (ETL). These structures have
resulted in improved device efficiency.
[0006] Many emitting materials that have been described as useful
in an OLED device emit light from their excited singlet state by
fluorescence. The excited singlet state can be created when
excitons formed in an OLED device transfer their energy to the
singlet excited state of the dopant. However, only 25% of the
excitons created in an EL device are singlet excitons. The
remaining excitons are triplet, which cannot readily transfer their
energy to the dopant to produce the singlet excited state of a
dopant. This results in a large loss in efficiency since 75% of the
excitons are not used in the light emission process.
[0007] Triplet excitons can transfer their energy to a dopant if it
has a triplet excited state that is low enough in energy. If the
triplet state of the dopant is emissive it can produce light by
phosphorescence. In many cases, singlet excitons can also transfer
their energy to the lowest singlet excited state of the same
dopant. The singlet excited state can often relax, by an
intersystem crossing process, to the emissive triplet excited
state. Thus, it is possible, by the proper choice of host and
dopant, to collect energy from both the singlet and triplet
excitons created in an OLED device and to produce a very efficient
phosphorescent emission. The term electrophosphorescence is
sometimes used to denote electroluminescence wherein the mechanism
of luminescence is phosphorescence.
[0008] Another process by which excited states of a dopant can be
created is a sequential process in which a hole is trapped by the
dopant and subsequently recombines with an electron, or an electron
is trapped and subsequently recombines with a hole, in either case
producing an excited state of the dopant directly. Singlet and
triplet states, and fluorescence, phosphorescence, and intersystem
crossing are discussed in J. G. Calvert and J. N. Pitts, Jr.,
Photochemistry (Wiley, New York, 1966) and further discussed in
publications by S. R. Forrest and coworkers such as M. A. Baldo, D.
F. O'Brien, M. E. Thompson, and S. R. Forrest, Phys. Rev. B, 60,
14422 (1999) and M. A. Baldo, S. R. Forrest, Phys. Rev. B, 62,
10956 (2000).
[0009] Emission from triplet states is generally very weak for most
organic compounds because the transition from the triplet excited
state to the singlet ground state is spin-forbidden. However, it is
possible for compounds with states possessing a strong spin-orbit
coupling interaction to emit strongly from triplet excited states
to the singlet ground state (phosphorescence). For example,
fac-tris(2-phenyl-pyridinato-N,C.sup.2'-)Iridium(III)
(Ir(ppy).sub.3) emits green light (K. A. King, P. J. Spellane, and
R. J. Watts, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 107, 1431 (1985); M. G. Colombo, T.
C. Brunold, T. Reidener, H. U. Gudel, M. Fortsch, and H.-B. Burgi,
Inorg. Chem., 33, 545 (1994)). Organic electroluminescent devices
having high efficiency have been demonstrated with Ir(ppy).sub.3 as
the phosphorescent material and 4,4'-N,N'-dicarbazole-biphenyl
(CBP) as the host (M. A. Baldo, S. Lamansky, P. E. Burrows, M. E.
Thompson, S. R. Forrest, Appl. Phys. Lett., 75, 4 (1999), T.
Tsutsui, M.-J. Yang, M. Yahiro, K. Nakamura, T. Watanabe, T. Tsuji,
Y. Fukuda, T. Wakimoto, S. Miyaguchi, Jpn. J. Appl. Phys., 38,
L1502 (1999)). Additional disclosures of phosphorescent materials
and organic electroluminescent devices employing these materials
are found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,303238 B1, WO 2000/57676, WO
2000/70655, WO 2001/41512 A1, WO 2002/02714 A2, WO 2003/040256 A2,
and WO 2004/016711 A1.
[0010] Mixed hosts have been used to improve the efficiency,
voltage and operational stability of phosphorescent OLED devices.
H. Aziz et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 6,392,250 B1, US 2003/0104242 A1
and US 2003/0134146 A1 disclose organic electroluminescent devices
having an emissive layer containing the phosphorescent
2,3,7,8,12,13,17,18-octaethyl-21H,23H-porhine Platinum(II) (PtOEP)
dopant and an about equal weight percent of both NPB and Alq
(tris(8-quinolinolato)aluminum (III)) as host materials. R. Kwong
et al. in US 2002/0074935 A1 also disclose devices with an emissive
layer containing the PtOEP or bis(benzothienyl-pyridinato-N
C)Iridium(III) (acetylacetonate) as a dopant and equal proportions
of NPB and Alq as host materials. In US 2004/0155238 a
light-emitting layer of the OLED device contains a wide band gap
inert host matrix in combination with a charge carrying material
and a phosphorescent emitter. The charge carrying compound can
transport holes or electrons, and it is selected so that charge
carrying material and phosphorescent emitter transport charges of
opposite polarity. However, in this case, blue OLED devices
employing these disclosed materials require use of substantial
amounts of the phosphorescent emitters and still do not solve the
high voltage problem.
[0011] M. Furugori et al. in US 2003/0141809 disclose
phosphorescent devices where a host material is mixed with another
hole- or electron-transporting material in the light-emitting
layer. The document describes that devices utilizing plural host
compounds show higher current and higher efficiencies at a given
voltage; however, reported luminance data are quite moderate.
Efficient single-layer-solution processed phosphorescent OLED
devices based on fac-tris(2-phenylpyridine) Iridium cored dendrimer
are described in T. Anthopoulos et al., Appl. Phys. Lett., 82, 4824
(2003). T. Igarashi et al. in WO 2004/062324 A1 disclose
phosphorescent devices with the light-emitting layer containing at
least one electron-transporting compound, at least one
hole-transporting compound and a phosphorescent dopant. Various
materials were tested as co-hosts for the blue and green emitters,
and high efficiency devices are reported. However, luminous and
power efficiencies of the disclosed OLEDs can be improved much
further.
[0012] High emission efficiency in phosphorescent OLED devices with
a neat host is usually obtained by incorporating a hole-blocking
material between the light-emitting layer and the cathode in order
to limit the migration of holes and confine electron-hole
recombination and the resulting excitons to the light-emitting
layer (for example, see U.S. Pat. No. 6,097,147).
[0013] In addition to a hole-blocking layer, a phosphorescent OLED
device employing a neat host and a phosphorescent material may
include at least one hole-transporting layer with suitable triplet
energy levels, placed adjacent to the light-emitting layer on the
anode side, to help confine the electron-hole recombination events
to the light-emitting layer. This feature can further improve the
efficiency of the device. Examples of hole-transporting materials
whose energy levels make them suitable for use with many
phosphorescent materials include
4,4',4''-tris(N-3-methylphenyl-N-phenylamino)triphenylamine
(MTDATA; see JP2003092186A),
bis[4-(N,N-diethylamino)-2-methylphenyl](4-methylphenyl)methane
(MPMP; see WO02/02714 and WO03/040257),
N,N-bis[2,5-dimethyl-4-[(3-methylphenyl)phenylamino]phenyl]-2,5-dimethyl--
N'-(3-methylphenyl)-N'-phenyl-1,4-benzenediamine (see JP2004 139819
A and US 2004/018910 A1). However, use of these materials alone
does not give the optimum performance possible in an
electroluminescent device.
[0014] M. Thompson et al., in US 2004/0048101, disclose
phosphorescent blue and white OLED devices comprising an electron
blocking layer and the light-emitting layer with a neat host and a
phosphorescent emitter. By inserting an electron-blocking layer
between the hole-transporting and light-emitting layers electron
leakage can be eliminated and, hence, luminous efficiency is
increased. Fac-tris(1-phenylpyrazolato, N,C.sup.2')Iridium (III)
(Irppz) and Iridium(III)bis(1-phenylpyrazolato,
N,C.sup.2')(2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-3,5-heptanedionato-O,O)
(ppz.sub.2Ir(dpm)) have been disclosed as suitable electron
blocking materials.
[0015] A useful class of electron-transporting materials is that
derived from metal chelated oxinoid compounds including chelates of
oxine itself, also commonly referred to as 8-quinolinol or
8-hydroxyquinoline. Tris(8-quinolinolato)aluminum(III), also known
as Alq or Alq.sub.3, and other metal and non-metal oxine chelates
are well known in the art as electron-transporting materials.
[0016] Tang et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 4,769,292 and VanSlyke et al.,
in U.S. Pat. No. 4,539,507 lower the drive voltage of the EL
devices by teaching the use of Alq as an electron transport
material in the luminescent layer or luminescent zone.
[0017] Baldo et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 6,097,147 and Hung et al., in
U.S. Pat. No. 6,172,459 teach the use of an organic
electron-transporting layer adjacent to the cathode so that when
electrons are injected from the cathode into the
electron-transporting layer, the electrons traverse both the
electron-transporting layer and the light-emitting layer.
[0018] The use of a mixed layer of a hole-transporting material and
an electron-transporting material in the light-emitting layer is
well known. For example, see US 2004/0229081; U.S. Pat. No.
6,759,146, U.S. Pat. No. 6,759,146; U.S. Pat. No. 6,753,098; and
U.S. Pat. No. 6,713,192 and references cited therein. Kwong and
co-workers, US 2002/0074935, describe a mixed layer comprising an
organic small molecule hole-transporting material, an organic small
molecule electron-transporting material and a phosphorescent
dopant.
[0019] Tamano et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 6,150,042 teaches use of
hole-injecting materials in an organic EL device. Examples of
electron-transporting materials useful in the device are given and
included therein are mixtures of electron-transporting materials.
There is no indication of how to select the electron-transporting
materials in terms of Lowest Unoccupied Molecular Orbital levels
(LUMOs) and no reference to low drive voltage with the devices.
[0020] Seo et al., in US2002/0086180A1 teaches the use of a 1:1
mixture of Bphen, (also known as 4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline
or bathophenanthroline) as an electron-transporting material, and
Alq as an electron injection material, to form an
electron-transporting mixed layer. However, the Bphen/Alq mix of
Seo et al., shows inferior stability. US 2004/0207318 A1 and U.S.
Pat. No. 6,396,209 describe an OLED structure including a mixed
layer of an electron-transporting organic compound and an organic
metal complex compound containing at least one of alkali metal ion,
alkali earth metal ion, or rare earth metal ion.
[0021] Commonly owned U.S. Serial Nos. 11/076,821 and 11/077,218
filed on Mar. 10, 2005, describe mixing a first compound with a
second compound that is a low voltage electron transport material,
to form a layer on the cathode side of the emitting layer in an
OLED device, which gives an OLED device that has a drive voltage
even lower than that of the device with the low voltage electron
transport material. In some cases a metallic material based on a
metal having a work function less than 4.2 eV is included in the
layer.
[0022] However, these devices do not have all desired EL
characteristics in terms of high luminance and stability of the
components in combination with low drive voltages.
[0023] Notwithstanding all these developments, there remains a need
to reduce drive voltage of OLED devices, as well as to provide
embodiments with other improved features such as operational
stability and luminance.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0024] The invention provides an OLED device comprising, in
sequence, an anode, a light-emitting layer that comprises a
phosphorescent light-emitting organometallic compound, a
hole-blocking layer, and a cathode, and between the hole-blocking
layer and the cathode, a further layer containing:
[0025] a) a first compound that has the lowest LUMO value of the
compounds in the layer, the amount being greater than or equal to
10% by volume and less than 100% by volume of the layer;
[0026] b) at least one second compound that is a low voltage
electron transport material, exhibiting a higher LUMO value than
the first compound, the total amount of said compound(s) being less
than or equal to 90% by volume and more than 0% by volume of the
layer.
[0027] Devices of the invention provide reduced drive voltage of
OLED devices, and provide embodiments with other improved features
such as operational stability and luminance
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0028] FIG. 1 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of one
embodiment of the OLED device of the present invention.
[0029] FIG. 2 is a graph of the results from Example 4 showing the
change in normalized luminance with time for comparative devices
4-1 and 4-6, and inventive devices 4-2, 4-3, 4-4, and 4-5.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0030] The invention is generally as described above. An OLED
device of the invention is a multilayer electroluminescent device
comprising a cathode, an anode, hole-injecting layer(s) (if
necessary), electron-injecting layer(s) (if necessary),
hole-transporting layer(s), electron-transporting layer(s), a
light-emitting layer(s) (LEL) and hole-blocking layer(s). At least
one light-emitting layer that contains a phosphorescent
light-emitting material is present. At least one hole-blocking
layer is adjacent to the light-emitting layer. On the cathode side
of the hole-blocking layer, is a further layer.
[0031] The further layer of the invention contains at least two
different compounds, a first compound and at least one second
compound. The first compound has the lowest LUMO (Lowest Unoccupied
Molecular Orbital) value of the compounds in the layer. The second
compound(s) has a higher LUMO value(s) than the first compound and
at least one of the second compounds is a low voltage electron
transport material.
[0032] In one suitable embodiment, the first compound has a LUMO
value lower than -2.30 eV, typically lower than -2.50 eV, and
desirably lower than -2.70 eV or even lower than -3.00 eV.
[0033] In one embodiment, the layer comprises only a first compound
and a second compound wherein neither the first or second compounds
include an organic metal complex compound containing an alkali
metal ion, an alkali earth metal ion, or a rare earth metal ion. In
one aspect of the invention, desirably, neither the first or second
compounds are tertiary amines since these materials do not
transport electrons well.
[0034] The amount of the first compound present in the layer is
greater than or equal to 10% by volume, but cannot be 100%. In one
suitable embodiment the first compound is present in the range of
20-90%, or desirably, in the range of 40-90%, and more typically in
the range of 50-80% of the layer by volume. The total amount of the
second compound(s), the low voltage electron-transporting
material(s), present in the layer is less than or equal to 90% by
volume, but cannot be 0%. In other embodiments of the invention,
particularly useful levels for the first compound are 20, 40, 50,
60, 75 or 90% with corresponding levels of 80, 60, 50, 40, 25 or
10% respectively for the total amount of the second
compound(s).
[0035] As used herein, the term "low voltage electron transport
material" are those materials that when incorporated alone into the
electron-transporting layer result in a drive voltage no more than
50% greater than an analogous device using only Alq in the
electron-transporting layer. Thus, a test for a low-voltage
material involves fabricating a device using Alq
(tris(8-quinolinolato)aluminum (III)) as the electron transport
material, illustrated in Example 3. A second device is fabricated
replacing Alq with the material to be tested as a low-voltage
electron transport material. If the second device has a drive
voltage (referred to herein as a test voltage) no more than 50%
greater than the device using Alq, than the test material is
considered a low-voltage electron transport material. More
desirable low-voltage electron transport materials afford a test
voltage no more than 40% greater, typically no more than 30%
greater, and desirably no more than 25% greater than Alq. Ideally,
low-voltage electron transport materials afford a test voltage no
greater than 20% or 10% higher than Alq, and preferably equal to or
less than Alq, under the test conditions.
[0036] Typically, "low voltage electron transport material" are
those materials that when incorporated alone into the
electron-transporting layer, as described in Example 3, result in
drive voltages of 12 volts or less. Low voltage electron transport
materials with drive voltages of 11 volts, 10 volts or less are
also useful as second compounds of the invention while materials of
9 volts or 8 volts or less are preferred as second compounds. It
should be understood that there may be some small experimental
variation in the test conditions which may be minimized by
comparing the performance of new materials to that of Alq as
described previously.
[0037] In one embodiment of the invention, the further layer
comprises a first compound, a second compound and at least one
additional compound. In one suitable embodiment, an additional
compound is metallic material based on a metal having a work
function less than 4.2 eV. As used herein the term "metallic
material" includes both the elemental metal and compounds thereof.
In this embodiment, the metal of said further layer is not
restricted to a specific one, as long as it is a metal that can
reduce at least one of the organic compounds. It can be selected
from the alkali metals such as Li, alkali earth metals such as Mg
and transition metals including rare earth metals. In particular,
the metal having a work function of less than or equal to 4.2 eV
can be suitably used as the metal, and typical examples of such
dopant metals include Li, Na, K, Be, Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba, Y, La, Sm, Gd,
Yb. In one desirable embodiment the metallic material is Li metal.
Desirably, the metallic material is present at a level of from
0.1to 15% by volume of the layer, and typically 0.1% to 10% and
more frequently from 1 to 8%.
[0038] FIG. 1 shows one embodiment of the invention in which
hole-injecting and electron-injecting layers are present. The first
compound and the second compound(s) are located in the
electron-transporting layer (ETL, 136) and the phosphorescent
light-emitting material is located in the light-emitting layer
(LEL, 134). A hole-blocking layer (HBL, 135) is between the
light-emitting layer and the electron-transporting layer. The
figure shows a hole-injecting layer (HIL, 130) and an
electron-injecting layer (EIL, 138), but these are optional. The
electron-transporting layer in this embodiment is the said further
layer containing both the first compound and the second compound(s)
and is adjacent to the electron-injecting layer. When there is no
electron-injecting layer present, the said further layer is
adjacent to the cathode. In other embodiments there may be more
than one hole-injecting, electron-injecting and
electron-transporting layers. When more than one
electron-transporting layers is present, the said further layer of
the invention may be adjacent to the cathode while the additional
electron-transporting layers are adjacent to the light-emitting
layer(s). Additionally, when more than one electron-transporting
layers are present, the said further layer of the invention may be
adjacent to the hole-blocking layer with the additional
electron-transporting layers adjacent to the cathode.
[0039] The further layer as described above, can be an emitting or
non-emitting layer. Typically, the primary function of the layer is
to transport electrons with the result that the OLED device
requires a lower voltage for operation than either of the first or
second compound alone in the device. When emitting, the
electroluminescence from said layer can enhance the overall
emission from the device. When non-emitting, either the first or
second compound or both should desirably be essentially colorless
or non-emitting. In one desirable embodiment, the further layer, as
described above, is non-emitting.
[0040] In one useful embodiment of the invention the first
compound, which has the lowest LUMO in the layer, contains at least
two fused rings. At least one of the two fused rings can be a
carbocyclic ring, or at least one of the fused rings can be a
heterocyclic ring. Suitably, the first compound contains three
fused rings, four fused rings, or even more fused rings. At least
one of the three fused rings can be a carbocyclic ring, or at least
one of the fused rings can be a heterocyclic ring.
[0041] In one suitable embodiment, the first compound is a
polycyclic hydrocarbon compound and thus does not contain
heteroatoms. In another suitable embodiment the first compound is a
polycyclic hydrocarbon having at least 3 fused rings and the second
compound is an organometallic compound such as
tris(8-quinolinolato)aluminum (III) (Alq).
[0042] As used herein and throughout this application, the term
carbocyclic and heterocyclic rings or groups are generally as
defined by the Grant & Hackh's Chemical Dictionary, Fifth
Edition, McGraw-Hill Book Company. A carbocyclic ring is any
aromatic or non-aromatic ring system containing only carbon atoms
and a heterocyclic ring is any aromatic or non-aromatic ring system
containing both carbon and non-carbon atoms such as nitrogen (N),
oxygen (O), sulfur (S), phosphorous (P), silicon (Si), gallium
(Ga), boron (B), beryllium (Be), indium (In), aluminum (Al), and
other elements found in the periodic table useful in forming ring
systems. For the purpose of this invention, also included in the
definition of a heterocyclic ring are those rings that include
coordinate bonds. The definition of a coordinate bond can be found
in Grant & Hackh's Chemical Dictionary, page 91. In essence, a
coordinate bond is formed when electron rich atoms such as O or N,
donate a pair of electrons to electron deficient atoms such as Al
or B. One such example is found in
tris(8-quinolinolato)aluminum(III), also referred to as Alq,
wherein the nitrogen on the quinoline moiety donates its lone pair
of electrons to the aluminum atom thus forming the heterocycle and
hence providing Alq with a total of 3 fused rings.
[0043] Carbocyclic and heterocyclic ring systems useful for the
current invention for the first and second compounds are selected
from metal and non-metal chelated oxinoids, anthracenes,
bipyridyls, butadienes, imidazoles, phenanthrenes, phenanthrolines,
styrylarylenes, benzazoles, buckministerfullerene-C.sub.60 (also
known as buckyball or fullerene-C.sub.60), tetracenes, xanthenes,
perylenes, coumarins, rhodamines, quinacridones,
dicyanomethylenepyrans, thiopyrans, polymethines, pyrylliums,
fluoranthenes, periflanthrenes, silacyclopentadienes or siloles,
thiapyrylliums, triazines, carbostyryls, metal and non-metal
chelated bis(azinyl)amines, metal and non-metal chelated
bis(azinyl)methenes.
[0044] In one embodiment, the first and second compounds of the
invention can be selected from compounds represented by Formulae
I-X.
[0045] The first and second compounds can be selected from
compounds represented by Formula I: ##STR1## wherein
[0046] M represents a metal or non-metal;
[0047] n is an integer of from 1 to 4; and
[0048] Z independently in each occurrence represents the atoms
completing a nucleus having at least two fused aromatic rings.
[0049] The first and second compounds can also be selected from
compounds represented by Formula II: (R.sup.S-Q).sub.2-M-O-L
Formula II wherein
[0050] M is a metal or non-metal;
[0051] Q in each occurrence represents a substituted
8-quinolinolato ligand;
[0052] R.sup.S represents an 8-quinolinolato ring substituent
chosen to block sterically the attachment of more than two
substituted 8-quinolinolato ligands to M; and
[0053] L is a phenyl or aromatic fused ring moiety, which can be
substituted with hydrocarbon groups such that L has from 6 to 24
carbon atoms.
[0054] Both first and second compounds can be selected from
compounds represented by Formula I, or both may be selected from
compounds represented by Formula II, with the provisos that the
compounds have different LUMO values, that at least one of the
second compound is a low voltage electron-transporting material and
that the second compound has the highest LUMO value. Additional
second compounds can be selected having Formulae I and II.
[0055] The first compound of the invention can be selected from
chelated bis(azinyl)amines and chelated bis(azinyl)methenes which
are represented by Formulae III and IV in which boron and nitrogen
form a coordinated bond: ##STR2## wherein:
[0056] A and A' represent independent azine ring systems
corresponding to 6-membered aromatic ring systems containing at
least one nitrogen;
[0057] each X.sup.a and X.sup.b is an independently selected
substituent, two of which may join to form a fused ring to A or
A';
[0058] m and n are independently 0 to 4;
[0059] Z.sup.a and Z.sup.b are independently selected
substituents;
[0060] Y is hydrogen or a substituent; and
[0061] 1, 2, 3, 4, 1', 2', 3', and 4' are independently selected as
either carbon or nitrogen atoms.
[0062] Additional first compounds can be selected from naphthacene
derivatives that are represented by Formulae V: ##STR3##
wherein:
[0063] R.sub.1, R.sub.2, R.sub.3, R.sub.4, R.sub.5, R.sub.6,
R.sub.7, R.sub.8, R.sub.9, R.sub.10, R.sub.11, and R.sub.12 are
independently selected as hydrogen or substituents;
[0064] provided that any of the indicated substituents may join to
form further fused rings.
[0065] A preferred first compound of the invention represented by
Formula V are those in which at least one of R.sub.1, R.sub.2,
R.sub.3, R.sub.4, R.sub.5, R.sub.6, R.sub.7, R.sub.8, R.sub.9,
R.sub.10, R.sub.11, and R.sub.12 are independently selected from
alkyl and aryl groups.
[0066] In one desirable embodiment, R.sub.1, R.sub.3, R.sub.4,
R.sub.7, R.sub.9, R.sub.10, represent hydrogen; R.sub.2 and R.sub.8
represent hydrogen or independently selected alkyl groups; R.sub.5,
R.sub.6, R.sub.11, and R.sub.12 represent independently selected
aryl groups.
[0067] Other first compounds can be selected from anthracene
derivatives that are represented by Formulae VI: ##STR4##
wherein:
[0068] R.sub.13, R.sub.14, R.sub.15 and R.sub.16 represent hydrogen
or one or more substituents selected from the following groups:
[0069] Group 1: hydrogen, alkyl and alkoxy groups typically having
from 1 to 24 carbon atoms;
[0070] Group 2: a ring group, typically having from 6 to 20 carbon
atoms;
[0071] Group 3: the atoms necessary to complete a carbocyclic fused
ring group such as naphthyl, anthracenyl, pyrenyl, and perylenyl
groups, typically having from 6 to 30 carbon atoms;
[0072] Group 4: the atoms necessary to complete a heterocyclic
fused ring group such as furyl, thienyl, pyridyl, and quinolinyl
groups, typically having from 5 to 24 carbon atoms;
[0073] Group 5: an alkoxylamino, alkylamino, and arylamino group
typically having from 1 to 24 carbon atoms; and
[0074] Group 6: fluorine, chlorine, bromine and cyano radicals.
[0075] More specifically, the first compound of the invention can
be selected from compounds represented by the following structures:
##STR5## ##STR6## ##STR7## Also included in structures A-1 to A-6
are compounds containing the A-1 through A-6 structural features
with substituents suitable to render said structures with the
desired properties to function as first compound materials of the
invention.
[0076] Specifically the first compound of the invention can be
selected from the following group; ##STR8## ##STR9## ##STR10##
##STR11## ##STR12##
[0077] Second compounds of the invention can be selected from
phenanthroline derivatives represented by Formula VII: ##STR13##
wherein
[0078] R.sub.17, R.sub.18, R.sub.19, R.sub.20, R.sub.21, R.sub.22,
R.sub.23 and R.sub.24 are hydrogen or substituents; and
[0079] provided that any of the indicated substituents may join to
form further fused rings.
[0080] Heterocyclic derivatives, represented by Formula VIII form a
group of materials from which the second compounds of the invention
can be selected: ##STR14## wherein
[0081] m is an integer of from 3 to 8;
[0082] Z is O, NR.sub.29, or S;
[0083] R.sub.25, R.sub.26, R.sub.27, R.sub.28 and R.sub.29 are
hydrogen; alkyl of from 1 to 24 carbon atoms; aryl or hetero-atom
substituted aryl of from 5 to 20 carbon atoms; or halo; or are the
atoms necessary to complete a fused carbocyclic or heterocyclic
ring; and
[0084] Y is a linkage unit usually comprising an alkyl or ary group
that conjugately or unconjugately connects the multiple benzazoles
together.
[0085] Additional second compounds of the invention can be selected
from silacyclopentadiene or silole derivatives represented by
Formula IX: ##STR15## wherein
[0086] R.sub.30, R.sub.31, and R.sub.32 are hydrogen or
substituents or are the atoms necessary to complete a fused
carbocyclic or heterocyclic ring.
[0087] Other second compounds of the invention can be selected from
triazine derivatives represented by Formula X: ##STR16##
wherein
[0088] k is an integer of from 1 to 4;
[0089] R.sub.33 is hydrogen, substituents or carbocyclic or
heterocyclic rings; and
[0090] Y is a linkage unit usually comprising an alkyl or ary group
that conjugately or unconjugately connects the multiple triazines
together.
[0091] Specific examples of second compounds based on Formulae I,
II, VII, VIII, IX and X are shown in the following structures:
##STR17## ##STR18## ##STR19##
[0092] First and second compounds useful in the invention are any
of those known in the art that meet the LUMO requirements of the
invention and wherein at least one of the second compounds, if more
than one is present, is a low voltage electron-transporting
material as defined in the invention.
[0093] Examples of preferred combinations of the invention are
those wherein the first compound is selected from A-7, A-8, A-9,
A-13, A-14, A-15A-16, A-18, A-19 and A-24, and the second compounds
are selected from B-1, B-2, B-3, B-4, B-5, B-6, B-7 and B-8.
[0094] The further layer as described in the invention contains a
first compound and a second compound, the first compound having a
lower LUMO value than the second compound. In addition, the second
compound is a low voltage electron-transporting compound. The
combination of both the first and second compounds in the further
layer of the invention in the aforementioned ratios, can give
devices that have reduced drive voltages even lower when compared
to the devices in which either the first or second compound are
incorporated alone in said layer.
[0095] Following are the chemical names and acronyms associated
with many useful compounds for practicing the invention:
[0096] A-2, perylene; A-7 or B-1, Alq or Alq.sub.3,
tris(8-quinolinolato)aluminum (III); A-8 or B-2, BAlq; A-9 or B-3,
Gaq or Gaq.sub.3, tris(8-quinolinolato)gallium(III); A-10,
9-(2-naphthyl)-10-(4-phenyl)phenylanthracene; A-11, ADN,
9,10-bis(2-naphthyl)-2-phenylanthracene; A-12, tBADN,
2-tert-butyl-9,10-bis(2-naphthyl)-2-phenylanthracene; A-13, tBDPN,
5,12-bis[4-tert-butylphenyl]naphthacene; A-14, rubrene,
5,6,11,12-tetraphenylnaphthacene; A-18, TBP,
2,5,8,11-tetra-tert-butylperylene; B-4, BPhen,
4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline; B-5, BCP,
2,9-dimethyl-4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline; B-6, TPBI,
2,2',2''-(1,3,5-benzenetriyl)tris[1-phenyl-1H-benzimidazole]; and
A-24 or B-8, TRAZ,
2,2'-(1,1'-biphenyl)-4,4'-diylbis(4,6-(p-tolyl)-1,3,5-triazine).
[0097] For use herein, the term 8-quinolinolato ligand, is a ligand
derived from 8-hydroxyquinoline wherein the nitrogen in the
1-position of quinoline coordinates, by donating its free pair of
electrons to a metal or non-metal atom bound to the hydroxyl group
in the 8-position, with the metal or non-metal atom accepting the
electrons, to form a coordinate bond and a chelated or heterocyclic
ring system. R.sup.S is an 8-quinolinolato-ring substituent chosen
to block sterically the attachment of more than two substituted
8-quinolinolato ligands to the metal or non-metal atom. Preferred
R.sup.s groups are selected from alkyl and aryl groups. L groups
are hydrocarbons of from 6 to 24 carbon atoms. Preferred L groups
are selected from alkyl, carbocyclic and heterocyclic groups. Y
groups are selected from alkyl, carbocyclic or heterocyclic groups.
Preferred Y groups are aryl or biphenyl groups. M can be any
suitable metal or non-metal found in the periodic table that can be
used to form compounds of Formulae I and II. For example, M can be
an alkali metal, such as lithium, sodium, or potassium; an alkaline
earth metal, such as magnesium or calcium; an earth metal, such as
aluminum or gallium, or a transition metal such as zinc or
zirconium. Generally any monovalent, divalent, trivalent, or
tetravalent metals known to be a useful chelating metal can be
employed. Also included are boron and beryllium. Additional
examples of first and second compounds represented by Formula II
can be found in Bryan et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,141,671, incorporated
herein by reference.
[0098] According to the present invention, the light-emitting layer
of the EL device comprises at least one host and at least one
phosphorescent light-emitting material. An efficiency-enhancing
hole-blocking layer is desirably placed to adjacent to the
light-emitting layer on the cathode side.
[0099] Suitable host materials for the phosphorescent
light-emitting material should be selected so that transfer of a
triplet exciton can occur efficiently from the host material to the
phosphorescent emitter but cannot occur efficiently from the
phosphorescent emitter to the host material. Therefore, it is
highly desirable that the triplet energy of the phosphorescent
emitter be lower than the triplet energies of each of the host
materials. Generally speaking, a large triplet energy implies a
large optical band gap. However, the band gap of the co-host
materials should not be chosen so large as to cause an unacceptable
barrier to injection of charge carriers into the light-emitting
layer and an unacceptable increase in the drive voltage of the OLED
device.
[0100] Examples of suitable host materials are described in WO
00/70655 A2; 01/39234 A2; 01/93642 A1; 02/074015 A2; 02/15645 A1,
US 2002/0117662, and commonly owned U.S. Ser. No. 11/016,108 of
Marina E. Kondavova et al., filed Dec. 17, 2004. Suitable hosts
include certain aryl amines, triazoles, indoles and carbazole
compounds. Examples of suitable materials include, but are not
limited to: [0101]
1,1-Bis(4-(N,N-di-p-tolylamino)phenyl)cyclohexane (TAPC); [0102]
1,1-Bis(4-(N,N-di-p-tolylamino)phenyl)cyclopentane; [0103]
4,4'-(9H-fluoren-9-ylidene)bis[N,N-bis(4-methylphenyl)-benzenamine;
[0104] 1,1-Bis(4-(N,N-di-p-tolylamino)phenyl)-4-phenylcyclohexane;
[0105] 1,1-Bis(4-(N,N-di-p-tolylamino)phenyl)-4-methylcyclohexane;
[0106] 1,1-Bis(4-(N,N-di-p-tolylamino)phenyl)-3-phenylpropane;
[0107]
Bis[4-(N,N-diethylamino)-2-methylphenyl](4-methylpenyl)methane;
[0108]
Bis[4-(N,N-diethylamino)-2-methylphenyl](4-methylphenyl)ethane;
[0109] 4-(4-Diethylaminophenyl)triphenylmethane; [0110]
4,4'-Bis(4-diethylaminophenyl)diphenylmethane; [0111]
4-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)-N,N-bis[4-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)phenyl]-benzenamine
(TCTA); [0112]
4-(3-phenyl-9H-carbazol-9-yl)-N,N-bis[4(3-phenyl-9H-carbazol-9-yl)phenyl]-
-benzenamine; [0113]
9,9'-[5'-[4-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)phenyl][1,1':3',1''-terphenyl]-4,4''-diyl]b-
is-9H-carbazole; [0114]
9,9'-(2,2'-dimethyl[1,1'-biphenyl]-4,4'-diyl)bis-9H-carbazole
(CDBP); [0115] 9,9'-[1,1'-biphenyl]-4,4'-diylbis-9H-carbazole
(CBP); [0116] 9,9'-(1,3-phenylene)bis-9H-carbazole (mCP); [0117]
9,9'-(1,4-phenylene)bis-9H-carbazole; [0118]
9,9',9''-(1,3,5-benzenetriyl)tris-9H-carbazole; [0119]
9,9'-(1,4-phenylene)bis[N,N,N',N'-tetraphenyl-9H-carbazole-3,6-diamine;
[0120]
9-[4-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)phenyl]-N,N-diphenyl-9H-carbazol-3-amine;
[0121] 9,9'-(1,4-phenylene)bis[N,N-diphenyl-9H-carbazol-3-amine;
[0122]
9-[4-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)phenyl]-N,N,N',N'-tetraphenyl-9H-carbazole-3,6-di-
amine; [0123] 2,9-dimethyl-4,7-diphenyl-phenanthroline (BCP) (see
Formula (13)) and 4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline (Bphen) (see
Formula (14)); [0124]
3-phenyl-4-(1-naphtyl)-5-phenyl-1,2,4-triazole [0125]
2,4,6-tris(diphenylamino)-1,3,5-triazine; [0126]
2,4,6-tricarbazolo-1,3,5-triazine; [0127]
2,4,6-tris(N-phenyl-2-naphthylamino)-1,3,5-triazine; [0128]
2,4,6-tris(N-phenyl-1-naphthylamino)-1,3,5-triazine; [0129]
4,4',6,6'-tetraphenyl-2,2'-bi-1,3,5-triazine; [0130]
2,4,6-tris([1,1':3',1''-terphenyl]-5'-yl)-1,3,5-triazine.
[0131] Examples of especially desirable hosts are
4,4'-N,N'-dicarbazole-biphenyl (CBP),
2,2'-dimethyl-4,4'-N,N'-dicarbazole-biphenyl,
1,3-di(N,N'-dicarbazole)benzene, and poly(N-vinylcarbazole),
including their derivatives. In one desirable embodiment, the
light-emitting layer that contains the phosphorescent
light-emitting material includes more than one host material in
order to improve the device's film morphology, electrical
properties, light emission efficiency, and lifetime. In a suitable
embodiment, the layer contains a first co-host material that has
good hole-transporting properties and a second co-host material
that has good electron-transporting properties as described U.S.
Ser. No. 11/016,108 of Marina E. Kondavova et al., filed Dec. 17,
2004, which is incorporated herein by reference. Desirably, the
OLED device also includes at least one exciton-blocking layer
placed adjacent to the light-emitting layer on the anode side, to
help confine triplet excitons to the light-emitting layer
containing the phosphorescent emitter. Suitable exciton-blocking
layers are also described in the above Kondakova application. In
one embodiment, the selected exciton blocking material or materials
have a triplet energy greater or equal to 2.5 eV.
[0132] Triplet energy is conveniently measured by any of several
means, as discussed for instance in S. L. Murov, I. Carmichael, and
G. L. Hug, Handbook of Photochemistry, 2nd ed. (Marcel Dekker, New
York, 1993). The triplet state of a compound can also be
calculated. The triplet state energy for a molecule is obtained as
the difference between the ground state energy (E(gs)) of the
molecule and the energy of the lowest triplet state (E(ts)) of the
molecule, both given in eV. These energies are obtained using the
B3LYP method as implemented in the Gaussian 98 (Gaussian, Inc.,
Pittsburgh, Pa.) computer program. The basis set for use with the
B3LYP method is defined as follows: MIDI! for all atoms for which
MIDI! is defined, 6-31G* for all atoms defined in 6-31G* but not in
MIDI!, and either the LACV3P or the LANL2DZ basis set and
pseudopotential for atoms not defined in MIDI! or 6-31G*, with
LACV3P being the preferred method. For any remaining atoms, any
published basis set and pseudopotential may be used. MIDI!, 6-31G*
and LANL2DZ are used as implemented in the Gaussian98 computer code
and LACV3P is used as implemented in the Jaguar 4.1 (Schrodinger,
Inc., Portland Oreg.) computer code. The energy of each state is
computed at the minimum-energy geometry for that state. The
difference in energy between the two states is further modified by
equation (1) to give the triplet state energy (E(t)):
E(t)=0.84*(E(ts)-E(gs))+0.35 (eq. 1).
[0133] For polymeric or oligomeric materials, it is sufficient to
compute the triplet energy over a monomer or oligomer of sufficient
size so that additional units do not substantially change the
computed triplet energy.
[0134] The calculated values for the triplet state energy of a
given compound may typically show some deviation from the
experimental values. Thus, the calculations should be used only as
a rough guide in the selection of appropriate materials.
[0135] According to the present invention, the light-emitting layer
of the EL device comprises at least one phosphorescent
light-emitting material. The light-emitting phosphorescent
material(s) is typically present in an amount of from 1 to 20 by
weight % of the light-emitting layer, and conveniently from 2 to 8%
by weight of the light-emitting layer. In some embodiments, the
phosphorescent complex guest material(s) may be attached to one or
more host materials. The host materials may further be polymers.
For convenience, the phosphorescent complex material may be
referred to herein as a phosphorescent guest material or
emitter.
[0136] Particularly useful phosphorescent materials are described
by Formula (AA) below: ##STR20## wherein:
[0137] A is a substituted or unsubstituted heterocyclic ring
containing at least one nitrogen atom;
[0138] B is a substituted or unsubstituted aromatic or
heteroaromatic ring, or ring containing a vinyl carbon bonded to
M;
[0139] X--Y is an anionic bidentate ligand;
[0140] m is an integer from 1 to 3 and
[0141] n in an integer from 0 to 2 such that m+n=3 for M=Rh or Ir;
or
[0142] m is an integer from 1 to 2 and n in an integer from 0 to 1
such that
[0143] m+n=2 for M=Pt or Pd.
[0144] Compounds according to Formula (AA) may be referred to as
C,N-- (or C N--) cyclometallated complexes to indicate that the
central metal atom is contained in a cyclic unit formed by bonding
the metal atom to carbon and nitrogen atoms of one or more ligands.
Examples of heterocyclic ring A in Formula (AA) include substituted
or unsubstituted pyridine, quinoline, isoquinoline, pyrimidine,
indole, indazole, thiazole, and oxazole rings. Examples of ring B
in Formula (AA) include substituted or unsubstituted phenyl,
napthyl, thienyl, benzothienyl, furanyl rings. Ring B in Formula
(AA) may also be a N-containing ring such as pyridine, with the
proviso that the N-containing ring bonds to M through a C atom as
shown in Formula (AA) and not the N atom.
[0145] In one embodiment, the phosphorescent emitting material
comprises an organometallic complex comprising a metal and at least
one ligand, wherein the metal is selected from the group consisting
of Ir, Rh, Ru, Pt, and Pd. Desirably the metal is Ir.
[0146] An example of a tris-C,N-cyclometallated complex according
to Formula (AA) with m=3 and n=0 is
tris(2-phenyl-pyridinato-N,C.sup.2'-)Iridium(III), shown below in
stereodiagrams as facial (fac-) or meridional (mer-) isomers.
##STR21##
[0147] Generally, facial isomers are preferred since they are often
found to have higher phosphorescent quantum yields than the
meridional isomers. Additional examples of tris-C,N-cyclometallated
phosphorescent materials according to Formula (AA) are
tris(2-(4'-methylphenyl)pyridinato-N,C.sup.2')Iridium(III),
tris(3-phenylisoquinolinato-N,C.sup.2')Iridium(III),
tris(2-phenylquinolinato-N,C.sup.2')Iridium(III),
tris(1-phenylisoquinolinato-N,C.sup.2')Iridium(III),
tris(1-(4'-methylphenyl)isoquinolinato-N,C.sup.2')Iridium(III),
tris(2-(4',6'-diflourophenyl)-pyridinato-N,C.sup.2')Iridium(III),
tris(2-((5'-phenyl)-phenyl)pyridinato-N,C.sup.2')Iridium(III),
tris(2-(2'-benzothienyl)pyridinato-N,C.sup.3')Iridium(III),
tris(2-phenyl-3,3'dimethyl)indolato-N,C.sup.2')Ir(III),
tris(1-phenyl-1H-indazolato-N,C.sup.2')Ir(III). In one embodiment,
a desirable organometallic complex includes a metal and at least
one ligand, wherein the ligand includes a 2-phenylpyridine group, a
1-phenylisoquinoline group, a 3-phenylisoquinoline group, a
1-phenylimidazo[1,2-a]pyridine, a thiazole ring group that is fused
with at least one aromatic ring group, or an oxazole ring group
that is fused with at least one aromatic ring group.
[0148] Tris-C,N-cyclometallated phosphorescent materials also
include compounds according to Formula (AA) wherein the monoanionic
bidentate ligand X--Y is another C,N-cyclometallating ligand.
Examples include
bis(1-phenylisoquinolinato-N,C.sup.2')(2-phenylpyridinato-N,C.sup.2')Irid-
ium(III) and
bis(2-phenylpyridinato-N,C.sup.2')(1-phenylisoquinolinato-N,C.sup.2')Irid-
ium(III). Synthesis of such tris-C,N-cyclometallated complexes
containing two different C,N-cyclometallating ligands may be
conveniently synthesized by the following steps. First, a
bis-C,N-cyclometallated diiridium dihalide complex (or analogous
dirhodium complex) is made according to the method of Nonoyama
(Bull. Chem. Soc. Jpn., 47, 767 (1974)). Secondly, a zinc complex
of the second, dissimilar C,N-cyclometallating ligand is prepared
by reaction of a zinc halide with a lithium complex or Grignard
reagent of the cyclometallating ligand. Third, the thus formed zinc
complex of the second C,N-cyclometallating ligand is reacted with
the previously obtained bis-C,N-cyclometallated diiridium dihalide
complex to form a tris-C,N-cyclometallated complex containing the
two different C,N-cyclometallating ligands. Desirably, the thus
obtained tris-C,N-cyclometallated complex containing the two
different C,N-cyclometallating ligands may be converted to an
isomer wherein the C atoms bonded to the metal (e.g. Ir) are all
mutually cis by heating in a suitable solvent such as dimethyl
sulfoxide.
[0149] Suitable phosphorescent materials according to Formula (AA)
may in addition to the C,N-cyclometallating ligand(s) also contain
monoanionic bidentate ligand(s) X--Y that are not
C,N-cyclometallating. Common examples are beta-diketonates such as
acetylacetonate, and Schiff bases such as picolinate. Examples of
such mixed ligand complexes according to Formula (AA) include
bis(2-phenylpyridinato-N,C.sup.2')Iridium(III)(acetylacetonate),
bis(2-(2'-benzothienyl)pyridinato-N,C.sup.3')Iridium(III)(acetylacetonate-
), and
bis(2-(4',6'-diflourophenyl)-pyridinato-N,C.sup.2')Iridium(III)(pic-
olinate).
[0150] Other important phosphorescent materials according to
Formula (AA) include C,N-cyclometallated Pt(II) complexes such as
cis-bis(2-phenylpyridinato-N,C.sup.2')platinum(II),
cis-bis(2-(2'-thienyl)pyridinato-N,C.sup.3') platinum(II),
cis-bis(2-(2-thienyl)quinolinato-N,C.sup.5') platinum(II), or
(2-(4',6'-difluorophenyl)pyridinato-N,C.sup.2') platinum (II)
(acetylacetonate).
[0151] The emission wavelengths (color) of C,N-cyclometallated
phosphorescent materials according to Formula (AA) are governed
principally by the lowest energy optical transition of the complex
and hence by the choice of the C,N-cyclometallating ligand. For
example, 2-phenyl-pyridinato-N,C.sup.2' complexes are typically
green emissive while 1-phenyl-isoquinolinolato-N,C.sup.2' complexes
are typically red emissive. In the case of complexes having more
than one C,N-cyclometallating ligand, the emission will be that of
the ligand having the property of longest wavelength emission.
Emission wavelengths may be further shifted by the effects of
substituent groups on the C,N-cyclometallating ligands. For
example, substitution of electron donating groups at appropriate
positions on the N-containing ring A or electron accepting groups
on the C-containing ring B tend to blue-shift the emission relative
to the unsubstituted C,N-cyclometallated ligand complex. Selecting
a monodentate anionic ligand X,Y in Formula (AA) having more
electron accepting properties also tends to blue-shift the emission
of a C,N-cyclometallated ligand complex. Examples of complexes
having both monoanionic bidentate ligands possessing electron
accepting properties and electron accepting substituent groups on
the C-containing ring B include
bis(2-(4',6'-difluorophenyl)-pyridinato-N,C.sup.2')iridium(III)(picolinat-
e) and
bis(2-(4',6'-difluorophenyl)-pyridinato-N,C.sup.2')iridium(III)(tet-
rakis(1-pyrazolyl)borate).
[0152] The central metal atom in phosphorescent materials according
to Formula (AA) may be Rh or Ir (m+n=3) and Pd or Pt (m+n=2).
Preferred metal atoms are Ir and Pt since they tend to give higher
phosphorescent quantum efficiencies according to the stronger
spin-orbit coupling interactions generally obtained with elements
in the third transition series.
[0153] In addition to bidentate C,N-cyclometallating complexes
represented by Formula AA, many suitable phosphorescent emitters
contain multidentate C,N-cyclometallating ligands. Phosphorescent
emitters having tridentate ligands suitable for use in the present
invention are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,824,895 B1 and U.S. Ser.
No.10/729,238 (pending) and references therein, incorporated in
their entirety herein by reference. Phosphorescent emitters having
tetradentate ligands suitable for use in the present invention are
described by the followinge: ##STR22## wherein:
[0154] M is Pt or Pd;
[0155] R.sup.1--R.sup.7 represent hydrogen or independently
selected substituents, provided that R.sup.1 and R.sup.2, R.sup.2
and R.sup.3, R.sup.3 and R.sup.4, R.sup.4 and R.sup.5, R.sup.5 and
R.sup.6, as well as R.sup.6 and R.sup.7 may join to form a ring
group;
[0156] R.sup.8--R.sup.14 represent hydrogen or independently
selected substituents, provided that R.sup.8 and R.sup.9, R.sup.9
and R.sup.10, R.sup.10 and R.sup.11, R.sup.11 and R.sup.12,
R.sup.12 and R.sup.13, as well as R.sup.13 and R.sup.14, may join
to form a ring group;
[0157] E represents a bridging group selected from the following:
##STR23##
[0158] wherein R and R' represent hydrogen or independently
selected substituents;
[0159] provided R and R' may combine to form a ring group.
[0160] In one desirable embodiment, the tetradentate
C,N-cyclometallated phosphorescent emitter suitable for use in the
present invention is represented by the following Formula:
##STR24## wherein,
[0161] R.sup.1--R.sup.7 represent hydrogen or independently
selected substituents, provided that R.sup.1 and R.sup.2, R.sup.2
and R.sup.3, R.sup.3 and R.sup.4, R.sup.4 and R.sup.5, R.sup.5 and
R.sup.6, as well as R.sup.6 and R.sup.7 may combine to form a ring
group;
[0162] R.sup.8-R.sup.14 represent hydrogen or independently
selected substituents, provided that R.sup.8 and R.sup.9, R.sup.9
and R.sup.10, R.sup.10 and R.sup.11, R.sup.11 and R.sup.12,
R.sup.12 and R.sup.13as well as R.sup.13 and R.sup.14 may combine
to form a ring group; Z.sup.1-Z.sup.5 represent hydrogen or
independently selected substituents, provided that Z.sup.1 and
Z.sup.2, Z.sup.2 and Z.sup.3, Z.sup.3 and Z.sup.4, as well as
Z.sup.4 and Z.sup.5 may combine to form a ring group.
[0163] Specific examples of phosphorescent emitters having
tetradentate C,N-cyclometallating ligands suitable for use in the
present invention include compounds X, Y, and Z represented below.
##STR25##
[0164] Phosphorescent emitters having tetradentate
C,N-cyclometallating ligands may be synthesized by reacting the
tetradentate C,N-cyclometallating ligand with a salt of the desired
metal, such as K.sub.2PtCl.sub.4, in a proper organic solvent such
as glacial acetic acid to form the phosphorescent emitter having
tetradentate C,N-cyclometallating ligands. A tetraakylammonium salt
such as tetrabutylammonium chloride can be used as a phase transfer
catalyst to accelerate the reaction.
[0165] Other phosphorescent materials that do not involve
C,N-cyclometallating ligands are known. Phosphorescent complexes of
Pt(II), Ir(I), and Rh(I) with maleonitriledithiolate have been
reported (C. E. Johnson et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 105,1795
(1983)). Re(I) tricarbonyl diimine complexes are also known to be
highly phosphorescent (M. Wrighton and D. L. Morse, J. Am. Chem.
Soc., 96, 998 (1974); D. J. Stufkens, Comments Inorg. Chem., 13,
359 (1992); V. W. W. Yam, Chem. Commun., 789 (2001)). Os(II)
complexes containing a combination of ligands including cyano
ligands and bipyridyl or phenanthroline ligands have also been
demonstrated in a polymer OLED (Y. Ma et al., Synthetic Metals, 94,
245 (1998)).
[0166] Porphyrin complexes such as
2,3,7,8,12,13,17,18-octaethyl-21H,23H-porphine platinum(II) are
also useful phosphorescent materials.
[0167] Still other examples of useful phosphorescent materials
include coordination complexes of the trivalent lanthanides such as
Tb.sup.3+ and Eu.sup.3+ (J. Kido et al., Chem. Lett., 657 (1990);
J. Alloys and Compounds, 192, 30 (1993); Jpn. J Appl. Phys., 35,
L394 (1996) and Appl. Phys. Lett., 65, 2124 (1994)).
[0168] Additional information on suitable phosphorescent materials
and synthetic methods, incorporated herein by reference, can be
found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,303,238 B1, WO 00/57676, WO 00/70655, WO
01/41512 A1, US 2002/0182441 A1, US 2003/0017361 A1, US
2003/0072964 A1, U.S. Pat. No. 6,413,656 B1, U.S. Pat. No.
6,687,266 B1, US 2004/0086743 A1, US 2004/0121184 A1, US
2003/0059646 A1, US 2003/0054198 A1, EP 1 239 526 A2, EP 1 238 981
A2, EP 1 244 155 A2, US 2002/0100906 A1, US 2003/0068526 A1, US
2003/0068535 A1, JP 2003073387A, JP 2003 073388A, U.S. Pat. No.
6,677,060 B2, US 2003/0235712 A1, US 2004/0013905 A1, U.S. Pat. No.
6,733,905 B2, U.S. Pat. No. 6,780,528 B2,US 2003/0040627 A1, JP
2003059667A, JP 2003073665A, US 2002/0121638 A1, EP 1371708A1, US
2003/010877 A1, WO 03/040256 A2, US 2003/0096138 A1, US
2003/0173896 A1, U.S. Pat. No. 6,670,645 B2, US 2004/0068132 A1, WO
2004/015025 A1, US 2004/0072018 A1, US 2002/0134984 A1, WO
03/079737 A2, WO 2004/020448 A1, WO 03/091355 A2, U.S. Ser. No.
10/729,402, U.S. Ser. No. 10/729,712, U.S. Ser. No. 10/729,738,
U.S. Ser. No. 10/729,238, U.S. Ser. No. 10/729,246 (now allowed),
U.S. Ser. No. 10/729,207 (now allowed), U.S. Ser. No. 10/729,263
(now allowed), U.S. Ser. No. 10/879,412, and U.S. Ser. No.
10/879,657.
[0169] In addition to suitable hosts, an EL device employing a
phosphorescent material often is more efficient if there is at
least one exciton- or hole-blocking layer on the cathode side of
the emitting layer. Efficiency can also often be improved if there
are one or more exciton- or electron-blocking layers on the anode
side of the emitting layer. These additional layers help confine
the excitons or electron-hole recombination centers to the
light-emitting layer comprising the host and emitting material.
[0170] An exciton- or hole-blocking layer is desirably placed
between the electron-transporting layer and the light-emitting
layer--see FIG. 1, Layer 135. The ionization potential of the
blocking layer should be such that there is an energy barrier for
hole migration from the host into the electron-transporting layer,
while the electron affinity should be such that electrons pass more
readily from the electron-transporting layer into the
light-emitting layer comprising host and phosphorescent material.
It is further desired, but not absolutely required, that the
triplet energy of the blocking material be greater than that of the
phosphorescent material. Suitable hole-blocking materials are
described in WO 00/70655A2 and WO 01/93642 A1. Two examples of
useful materials are bathocuproine (BCP) and
bis(2-methyl-8-quinolinolato)(4-phenylphenolato)Aluminum(III)
(BAlq). Metal complexes other than BAlq are also known to block
holes and excitons as described in US 20030068528.
[0171] In another embodiment, an exciton- or electron-blocking
layer would be placed between the hole-transporting layer and the
light-emitting layer (this layer is not shown in FIG. 1). As an
example, US 20030175553 A1 describes the use of
fac-tris(1-phenylpyrazolato-N,C.sup.2')iridium(III) (Irppz) in an
electron/exciton blocking layer. U.S. Ser. No. 11/016,108 of Marina
E. Kondavova et al., filed Dec. 17, 2004, describes further
examples of exciton-blocking layers. Depending on the nature of the
electron-transporting material and the configuration of the LEL,
the blocking layer, in certain cases, can be entirely omitted.
[0172] In one suitable embodiment the EL device includes a means
for emitting white light, which may include complimentary emitters,
a white emitter, or a filtering means. The device may also include
a fluorescent emitting material.
[0173] In one desirable embodiment the EL device is part of a
display device. In another suitable embodiment the EL device is
part of an area lighting device.
[0174] The EL device of the invention is useful in any device where
stable light emission is desired such as a lamp or a component in a
static or motion imaging device, such as a television, cell phone,
DVD player, or computer monitor.
[0175] Embodiments of the invention may provide EL devices that
have good luminance efficiency, good operational stability, and
reduced drive voltages. Embodiments of the invention may also give
reduced voltage rises over the lifetime of the devices and can be
produced with high reproducibility and consistently to provide good
light efficiency. They may have lower power consumption
requirements and, when used with a battery, provide longer battery
lifetimes.
[0176] Unless otherwise specifically stated, use of the term
"substituted" or "substituent" means any group or atom other than
hydrogen. Additionally, when the term "group" is used, it means
that when a substituent group contains a substitutable hydrogen, it
is also intended to encompass not only the substituent's
unsubstituted form, but also its form further substituted with any
substituent group or groups as herein mentioned, so long as the
substituent does not destroy properties necessary for device
utility. Suitably, a substituent group may be halogen or may be
bonded to the remainder of the molecule by an atom of carbon,
silicon, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorous, sulfur, selenium, or boron.
The substituent may be, for example, halogen, such as chloro, bromo
or fluoro; nitro; hydroxyl; cyano; carboxyl; or groups which may be
further substituted, such as alkyl, including straight or branched
chain or cyclic alkyl, such as methyl, trifluoromethyl, ethyl,
t-butyl, 3-(2,4-di-t-pentylphenoxy) propyl, and tetradecyl;
alkenyl, such as ethylene, 2-butene; alkoxy, such as methoxy,
ethoxy, propoxy, butoxy, 2-methoxyethoxy, sec-butoxy, hexyloxy,
2-ethylhexyloxy, tetradecyloxy, 2-(2,4-di-t-pentylphenoxy)ethoxy,
and 2-dodecyloxyethoxy; aryl such as phenyl, 4-t-butylphenyl,
2,4,6-trimethylphenyl, naphthyl; aryloxy, such as phenoxy,
2-methylphenoxy, alpha- or beta-naphthyloxy, and 4-tolyloxy;
carbonamido, such as acetamido, benzamido, butyramido,
tetradecanamido, alpha-(2,4-di-t-pentyl-phenoxy)acetamido,
alpha-(2,4-di-t-pentylphenoxy)butyramido,
alpha-(3-pentadecylphenoxy)-hexanamido,
alpha-(4-hydroxy-3-t-butylphenoxy)-tetradecanamido,
2-oxo-pyrrolidin-1-yl, 2-oxo-5-tetradecylpyrrolin-1-yl,
N-methyltetradecanamido, N-succinimido, N-phthalimido,
2,5-dioxo-1-oxazolidinyl, 3-dodecyl-2,5-dioxo-1-imidazolyl, and
N-acetyl-N-dodecylamino, ethoxycarbonylamino, phenoxycarbonylamino,
benzyloxycarbonylamino, hexadecyloxycarbonylamino,
2,4-di-t-butylphenoxycarbonylamino, phenylcarbonylamino,
2,5-(di-t-pentylphenyl)carbonylamino,
p-dodecyl-phenylcarbonylamino, p-tolylcarbonylamino,
N-methylureido, N,N-dimethylureido, N-methyl-N-dodecylureido,
N-hexadecylureido, N,N-dioctadecylureido,
N,N-dioctyl-N'-ethylureido, N-phenylureido, N,N-diphenylureido,
N-phenyl-N-p-tolylureido, N-(m-hexadecylphenyl)ureido,
N,N-(2,5-di-t-pentylphenyl)-N'-ethylureido, and t-butylcarbonamido;
sulfonamido, such as methylsulfonamido, benzenesulfonamido,
p-tolylsulfonamido, p-dodecylbenzenesulfonamido,
N-methyltetradecylsulfonamido, N,N-dipropyl-sulfamoylamino, and
hexadecylsulfonamido; sulfamoyl, such as N-methylsulfamoyl,
N-ethylsulfamoyl, N,N-dipropylsulfamoyl, N-hexadecylsulfamoyl,
N,N-dimethylsulfamoyl, N-[3-(dodecyloxy)propyl]sulfamoyl,
N-[4-(2,4-di-t-pentylphenoxy)butyl]sulfamoyl,
N-methyl-N-tetradecylsulfamoyl, and N-dodecylsulfamoyl; carbamoyl,
such as N-methylcarbamoyl, N,N-dibutylcarbamoyl,
N-octadecylcarbamoyl, N-[4-(2,4-di-t-pentylphenoxy)butyl]carbamoyl,
N-methyl-N-tetradecylcarbamoyl, and N,N-dioctylcarbamoyl; acyl,
such as acetyl, (2,4-di-t-amylphenoxy)acetyl, phenoxycarbonyl,
p-dodecyloxyphenoxycarbonyl methoxycarbonyl, butoxycarbonyl,
tetradecyloxycarbonyl, ethoxycarbonyl, benzyloxycarbonyl,
3-pentadecyloxycarbonyl, and dodecyloxyvcarbonyl; sulfonyl, such as
methoxysulfonyl, octyloxysulfonyl, tetradecyloxysulfonyl,
2-ethylhexyloxysulfonyl, phenoxysulfonyl,
2,4-di-t-pentylphenoxysulfonyl, methylsulfonyl, octylsulfonyl,
2-ethylhexylsulfonyl, dodecylsulfonyl, hexadecylsulfonyl,
phenylsulfonyl, 4-nonylphenylsulfonyl, and p-tolylsulfonyl;
sulfonyloxy, such as dodecylsulfonyloxy, and hexadecylsulfonyloxy;
sulfinyl, such as methylsulfinyl, octylsulfinyl,
2-ethylhexylsulfinyl, dodecylsulfinyl, hexadecylsulfinyl,
phenylsulfinyl, 4-nonylphenylsulfinyl, and p-tolylsulfinyl; thio,
such as ethylthio, octylthio, benzylthio, tetradecylthio,
2-(2,4-di-t-pentylphenoxy)ethylthio, phenylthio,
2-butoxy-5-t-octylphenylthio, and p-tolylthio; acyloxy, such as
acetyloxy, benzoyloxy, octadecanoyloxy, p-dodecylamidobenzoyloxy,
N-phenylcarbamoyloxy, N-ethylcarbamoyloxy, and
cyclohexylcarbonyloxy; amine, such as phenylanilino,
2-chloroanilino, diethylamine, dodecylamine; imino, such as 1
(N-phenylimido)ethyl, N-succinimido or 3-benzylhydantoinyl;
phosphate, such as dimethylphosphate and ethylbutylphosphate;
phosphite, such as diethyl and dihexylphosphite; a heterocyclic
group, a heterocyclic oxy group or a heterocyclic thio group, each
of which may be substituted and which contain a 3 to 7 membered
heterocyclic ring composed of carbon atoms and at least one hetero
atom selected from the group consisting of oxygen, nitrogen,
sulfur, phosphorous, or boron. Such as 2-furyl, 2-thienyl,
2-benzimidazolyloxy or 2-benzothiazolyl; quaternary ammonium, such
as triethylammonium; quaternary phosphonium, such as
triphenylphosphonium; and silyloxy, such as trimethylsilyloxy.
[0177] If desired, the substituents may themselves be further
substituted one or more times with the described substituent
groups. The particular substituents used may be selected by those
skilled in the art to attain desirable properties for a specific
application and can include, for example, electron-withdrawing
groups, electron-donating groups, and steric groups. When a
molecule may have two or more substituents, the substituents may be
joined together to form a ring such as a fused ring unless
otherwise provided. Generally, the above groups and substituents
thereof may include those having up to 48 carbon atoms, typically 1
to 36 carbon atoms and usually less than 24 carbon atoms, but
greater numbers are possible depending on the particular
substituents selected.
General Device Architecture
[0178] The present invention can be employed in most OLED device
configurations. These include very simple structures comprising a
single anode and cathode to more complex devices, such as passive
matrix displays comprised of orthogonal arrays of anodes and
cathodes to form pixels, and active-matrix displays where each
pixel is controlled independently, for example, with a thin film
transistor (TFT).
[0179] There are numerous configurations of the organic layers
wherein the present invention can be successfully practiced.
Essential requirements are a cathode, an anode, a HTL and a LEL. A
more typical structure is shown in FIG. 1 for OLED 100, and
contains a substrate 110, an anode 120, an optional hole-injecting
layer 130, a hole-transporting layer 132, a light-emitting layer
134, a hole-blocking layer 135, an electron-transporting layer 136,
an optional electron-injecting layer 138 and a cathode 140. These
layers are described in detail below. Note that the substrate may
alternatively be located adjacent to the cathode, or the substrate
may actually constitute the anode or cathode. Also, the total
combined thickness of the organic layers is preferably less than
500 nm.
[0180] The light-emitting layer can be constructed of a single
layer or multiple layers. If a single layer, it can be fabricated
to emit any color of light, with the selection chosen depending on
the application, and most notably from the red, green and blue
regions of the spectrum. If the device is required to emit white
light, then several layers emitting different colors of light with
sufficient spectral breadth are needed so that when combined, white
light is formed.
[0181] The anode and cathode of the OLED are connected to a
voltage/current source 150, through electrical conductors 160.
Applying a potential between the anode and cathode such that the
anode is at a more positive potential than the cathode operates the
OLED. Holes are injected into the organic EL element from the
anode. Enhanced device stability can sometimes be achieved when the
OLED is operated in an AC mode where, for some time period in
cycle, the potential bias is reversed and no current flows. An
example of an AC driven OLED is described in U.S. Pat. No.
5,552,678.
Substrate
[0182] The substrate 110 can either be light transmissive or
opaque, depending on the intended direction of light emission. The
light transmissive property is desirable for viewing the EL
emission through the substrate. Transparent glass or organic
material are commonly employed in such cases. For applications
where the EL emission is viewed through the top electrode, the
transmissive characteristic of the bottom support is immaterial,
and therefore can be light transmissive, light absorbing or light
reflective. Substrates for use in this case include, but are not
limited to, glass, plastic, semiconductor materials, ceramics, and
circuit board materials. Of course it is necessary to provide in
these device configurations a light-transparent top electrode.
Anode
[0183] The conductive anode layer 120 is commonly formed over the
substrate and, when EL emission is viewed through the anode, it
should be transparent or substantially transparent to the emission
of interest. Common transparent anode materials used in this
invention are indium-tin oxide (ITO) and tin oxide, but other metal
oxides can work including, but not limited to, aluminum- or
indium-doped zinc oxide (IZO), magnesium-indium oxide, and
nickel-tungsten oxide. In addition to these oxides, metal nitrides,
such as gallium nitride, and metal selenides, such as zinc
selenide, and metal sulfides, such as zinc sulfide, can be used in
layer 120. For applications where EL emission is viewed through the
top electrode, the transmissive characteristics of layer 120 are
immaterial and any conductive material can be used, transparent,
opaque or reflective. Example conductors for this application
include, but are not limited to, gold, iridium, molybdenum,
palladium, and platinum. Typical anode materials, transmissive or
otherwise, have a work function of 4.1 eV or greater. Desired anode
materials are commonly deposited by any suitable means such as
evaporation, sputtering, chemical vapor deposition, or
electrochemical means. Anodes can be patterned using well-known
photolithographic processes.
Hole-Injecting Layer (HIL)
[0184] While not always necessary, it is often useful that a
hole-injecting layer 130 be provided between anode 120 and
hole-transporting layer 132. The hole-injecting material can serve
to improve the film formation property of subsequent organic layers
and to facilitate injection of holes into the hole-transporting
layer. Suitable materials for use in the hole-injecting layer
include, but are not limited to, porphyrinic compounds such as
those described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,720,432, and plasma-deposited
fluorocarbon polymers such as those described in U.S. Pat. No.
6,208,075. Alternative hole-injecting materials reportedly useful
in organic EL devices are described in EP 0 891 121 A1 and EP 1 029
909 A1.
Hole-Transporting Layer (HTL)
[0185] The hole-transporting layer 132 of the organic EL device
contains at least one hole-transporting compound such as an
aromatic tertiary amine, where the latter is understood to be a
compound containing at least one trivalent nitrogen atom that is
bonded only to carbon atoms, at least one of which is a member of
an aromatic ring. Additionally, the hole-transporting layer may be
constructed of one or more layers such that each layer can be doped
or un-doped with the same or different light-emitting material. The
thickness of the HTL can be any suitable thickness. It can be in
the range of from 0.1 to 300 nm. In one form, the aromatic tertiary
amine can be an arylamine, such as a monoarylamine, diarylamine,
triarylamine, or a polymeric arylamine group. Exemplary monomeric
triarylamines are illustrated by Klupfel et al. U.S. Pat. No.
3,180,730. Other suitable triarylamines substituted with one or
more vinyl radicals and/or comprising at least one active hydrogen
containing group are disclosed by Brantley et al U.S. Pat. No.
3,567,450 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,658,520.
[0186] A more preferred class of aromatic tertiary amines are those
which include at least two aromatic tertiary amine moieties as
described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,720,432 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,061,569.
Such compounds include those represented by structural Formula (A).
##STR26## wherein Q.sub.1 and Q.sub.2 are independently selected
aromatic tertiary amine moieties and G is a linking group such as
an arylene, cycloalkylene, or alkylene group of a carbon to carbon
bond. In one embodiment, at least one of Q.sub.1 or Q.sub.2
contains a polycyclic fused ring group, e.g., a naphthalene. When G
is an aryl group, it is conveniently a phenylene, biphenylene, or
naphthalene group.
[0187] A useful class of triarylamine groups satisfying structural
Formula (A) and containing two triarylamine groups is represented
by structural Formula (B): ##STR27## where
[0188] R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 each independently represents a hydrogen
atom, an aryl group, or an alkyl group or R.sub.1 and R.sub.2
together represent the atoms completing a cycloalkyl group; and
[0189]
[0190] R.sub.3 and R4 each independently represents an aryl group,
which is in turn substituted with a diaryl substituted amino group,
as indicated by structural Formula (C): ##STR28## wherein R.sub.5
and R.sub.6 are independently selected aryl groups. In one
embodiment, at least one of R.sub.5 or R.sub.6 contains a
polycyclic fused ring group, e.g., a naphthalene.
[0191] Another class of aromatic tertiary amine groups are the
tetraaryldiamines. Desirable tetraaryldiamines groups include two
diarylamino groups, such as indicated by Formula (C), linked
through an arylene group. Useful tetraaryldiamines include those
represented by Formula (D). ##STR29## wherein
[0192] each Are is an independently selected arylene group, such as
a phenylene or anthracene group,
[0193] n is an integer of from 1 to 4, and
[0194] Ar, R.sub.7, R.sub.8, and R.sub.9 are independently selected
aryl groups.
In a typical embodiment, at least one of Ar, R.sub.7, R.sub.8, and
R.sub.9 is a polycyclic fused ring group, e.g., a naphthalene
[0195] The various alkyl, alkylene, aryl, and arylene groups of the
foregoing structural Formulae (A), (B), (C) and (D), can each in
turn be substituted. Typical substituents include alkyl groups,
alkoxy groups, aryl groups, aryloxy groups, and halogen such as
fluoride, chloride, and bromide. The various alkyl and alkylene
groups typically contain from about 1 to 6 carbon atoms. The
cycloalkyl moieties can contain from 3 to about 10 carbon atoms,
but typically contain five, six, or seven ring carbon atoms--e.g.,
cyclopentyl, cyclohexyl, and cycloheptyl ring structures. The aryl
and arylene groups are usually phenyl and phenylene moieties.
[0196] The hole-transporting layer can be formed of a single or a
mixture of aromatic tertiary amine compounds. Specifically, one may
employ a triarylamine, such as a triarylamine satisfying the
Formula (B), in combination with a tetraaryldiamine, such as
indicated by Formula (D). When a triarylamine is employed in
combination with a tetraaryldiamine, the latter is positioned as a
layer interposed between the triarylamine and the electron
injecting and transporting layer. Illustrative of useful aromatic
tertiary amines are the following:
[0197] 1,1-Bis(4-di-p-tolylaminophenyl)cyclohexane
[0198] 1,1-Bis(4-di-p-tolylaminophenyl)-4-phenylcyclohexane
[0199] 4,4'-Bis(diphenylamino)quadriphenyl
[0200] Bis(4-dimethylamino-2-methylphenyl)-phenylmethane
[0201] N,N,N-Tri(p-tolyl)amine
[0202]
4-(di-p-tolylamino)-4'-[4(di-p-tolylamino)-styryl]stilbene
[0203] N,N,N',N'-Tetra-p-tolyl-4-4'-diaminobiphenyl
[0204] N,N,N',N'-Tetraphenyl-4,4'-diaminobiphenyl
[0205] N,N,N',N'-tetra-1-naphthyl-4,4'-diaminobiphenyl
[0206] N,N,N',N'-tetra-2-naphthyl-4,4'-diaminobiphenyl
[0207] N-Phenylcarbazole
[0208] 4,4'-Bis[N-(1-naphthyl)-N-phenylamino]biphenyl(NPB)
[0209]
4,4'-Bis[N-(1-naphthyl)-N-(2-naphthyl)amino]biphenyl(TNB)
[0210] 4,4''-Bis[N-(1-naphthyl)-N-phenylamino]p-terphenyl
[0211] 4,4'-Bis[N-(2-naphthyl)-N-phenylamino]biphenyl
[0212] 4,4'-Bis[N-(3-acenaphthenyl)-N-phenylamino]biphenyl
[0213] 1,5-Bis[N-(1-naphthyl)-N-phenylamino]naphthalene
[0214] 4,4'-Bis[N-(9-anthryl)-N-phenylamino]biphenyl
[0215] 4,4''-Bis[N-(1-anthryl)-N-phenylamino]-p-terphenyl
[0216] 4,4'-Bis[N-(2-phenanthryl)-N-phenylamino]biphenyl
[0217] 4,4'-Bis[N-(8-fluoranthenyl)-N-phenylamino]biphenyl
[0218] 4,4'-Bis[N-(2-pyrenyl)-N-phenylamino]biphenyl
[0219] 4,4'-Bis[N-(2-naphthacenyl)-N-phenylamino]biphenyl
[0220] 4,4'-Bis[N-(2-perylenyl)-N-phenylamino]biphenyl
[0221] 4,4'-Bis[N-(1-coronenyl)-N-phenylamino]biphenyl
[0222] 2,6-Bis(di-p-tolylamino)naphthalene
[0223] 2,6-Bis[di-(1-naphthyl)amino]naphthalene
[0224] 2,6-Bis[N-(1-naphthyl)-N-(2-naphthyl)amino]naphthalene
[0225] N,N,N',N'-Tetra(2-naphthyl)-4,4''-diamino-p-terphenyl
[0226]
4,4'-Bis{N-phenyl-N-[4-(1-naphthyl)-phenyl]amino}biphenyl
[0227] 4,4'-Bis[N-phenyl-N-(2-pyrenyl)amino]biphenyl
[0228] 2,6-Bis[N,N-di(2-naphthyl)amine]fluorene
[0229] 1,5-Bis[N-(1-naphthyl)-N-phenylamino]naphthalene
[0230] 4,4',4''-tris[(3-methylphenyl)phenylamino]triphenylamine
(MTDATA)
[0231] 4,4'-Bis[N-(3-methylphenyl)-N-phenylamino]biphenyl (TPD
[0232] Another class of useful hole-transporting materials includes
polycyclic aromatic compounds as described in EP 1 009 041. In
addition, polymeric hole-transporting materials can be used such as
poly(N-vinylcarbazole) (PVK), polythiophenes, polypyrrole,
polyaniline, and copolymers such as
poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)/poly(4-styrenesulfonate) also
called PEDOT/PSS.
Exciton Blocking Laver (EBL)
[0233] As described previously, an optional exciton- or
electron-blocking layer may be present between the HTL and the LEL
(not shown in FIG. 1). Some suitable examples of such blocking
layers are described in U.S. Ser. No. 11/016,108 of Marina E.
Kondavova et al., filed Dec. 17, 2004.
Light-Emitting Layer (LEL)
[0234] In addition to the phosphorescent emitters of this
invention, which have been previously described, other
light-emitting materials may be used in the OLED device, including
fluorescent materials. Although the term "fluorescent" is commonly
used to describe any light-emitting material, in this case we are
referring to a material that emits light from a singlet excited
state. Fluorescent materials may be used in the same layer as the
phosphorescent material, in adjacent layers, in adjacent pixels, or
any combination. Care must be taken not to select materials that
will adversely affect the performance of the phosphorescent
materials of this invention. One skilled in the art will understand
that concentrations and triplet energies of materials in the same
layer as the phosphorescent material or in an adjacent layer must
be appropriately set so as to prevent unwanted quenching of the
phosphorescence.
[0235] As more fully described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,769,292 and
5,935,721, the light-emitting layer(s) (LEL) 134 of the organic EL
element comprises a luminescent or fluorescent material where
electroluminescence is produced as a result of electron-hole pair
recombination in this region. The light-emitting layer can be
comprised of a single material, but more commonly consists of
non-electroluminescent compounds doped with an electroluminescent
guest compound or compounds where light emission comes primarily
from the electroluminescent compound and can be of any color. The
non-electroluminescent compound or compounds in the light-emitting
layer can be an electron-transporting material, as defined below, a
hole-transporting material, as defined above, or another material
or combination of materials that support hole-electron
recombination. The electroluminescent compound is usually chosen
from highly fluorescent dyes, but phosphorescent compounds, e.g.,
transition metal complexes as described in WO 98/55561, WO
00/18851, WO 00/57676, and WO 00/70655 are also useful.
Electroluminescent compounds can be coated as 0.01 to 50% into the
non-electroluminescent component material, but typically coated as
0.01 to 30% and more typically coated as 0.01 to 15% into the
non-electroluminescent component. The thickness of the LEL can be
any suitable thickness. It can be in the range of from 0.1 mm to
100 mm.
[0236] An important relationship for choosing a dye as a
electroluminescent component is a comparison of the bandgap
potential which is defined as the energy difference between the
highest occupied molecular orbital and the lowest unoccupied
molecular orbital of the molecule. For efficient energy transfer
from the non-electroluminescent compound to the electroluminescent
compound molecule, a necessary condition is that the band gap of
the electroluminescent compound is smaller than that of the
non-electroluminescent compound or compounds.
[0237] Non-electroluminescent compounds and emitting molecules
known to be of use include, but are not limited to, those disclosed
in U.S. Pat. No. 4,768,292, U.S. Pat. No. 5,141,671, U.S. Pat. No.
5,150,006, U.S. Pat. No. 5,151,629, U.S. Pat. No. 5,405,709, U.S.
Pat. No. 5,484,922, U.S. Pat. No. 5,593,788, U.S. Pat. No.
5,645,948, U.S. Pat. No. 5,683,823, U.S. Pat. No. 5,755,999, U.S.
Pat. No. 5,928,802, U.S. Pat. No. 5,935,720, U.S. Pat. No.
5,935,721, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,020,078.
[0238] Metal complexes of 8-hydroxyquinoline and similar
derivatives (Formula E) constitute one class of useful
non-electroluminescent component compounds capable of supporting
electroluminescence, and are particularly suitable for light
emission of wavelengths longer than 500 nm, e.g., green, yellow,
orange, and red. ##STR30## wherein
[0239] M represents a metal;
[0240] n is an integer of from 1 to 4; and
[0241] Z independently in each occurrence represents the atoms
completing a nucleus having at least two fused aromatic rings.
[0242] From the foregoing it is apparent that the metal can be
monovalent, divalent, trivalent, or tetravalent metal. The metal
can, for example, be an alkali metal, such as lithium, sodium, or
potassium; an alkaline earth metal, such as magnesium or calcium;
an earth metal, such as aluminum or gallium, or a transition metal
such as zinc or zirconium. Generally any monovalent, divalent,
trivalent, or tetravalent metal known to be a useful chelating
metal can be employed.
[0243] Z completes a heterocyclic nucleus containing at least two
fused aromatic rings, at least one of which is an azole or azine
ring. Additional rings, including both aliphatic and aromatic
rings, can be fused with the two required rings, if required. To
avoid adding molecular bulk without improving on function the
number of ring atoms is usually maintained at 18 or less.
[0244] Illustrative of useful chelated oxinoid compounds are the
following: [0245] CO-1: Aluminum trisoxine [alias,
tris(8-quinolinolato)aluminum(III)] [0246] CO-2: Magnesium bisoxine
[alias, bis(8-quinolinolato)magnesium(II)] [0247] CO-3:
Bis[benzo{f}-8-quinolinolato]zinc (II) [0248] CO-4:
Bis(2-methyl-8-quinolinolato)aluminum(III)-.mu.-oxo-bis(2-methyl-8-quinol-
inolato) aluminum(III) [0249] CO-5: Indium trisoxine [alias,
tris(8-quinolinolato)indium] [0250] CO-6: Aluminum
tris(5-methyloxine) [alias,
tris(5-methyl-8-quinolinolato)aluminum(III)] [0251] CO-7: Lithium
oxine [alias, (8-quinolinolato)lithium(I)] [0252] CO-8: Gallium
oxine [alias, tris(8-quinolinolato)gallium(III)] [0253] CO-9:
Zirconium oxine [alias, tetra(8-quinolinolato)zirconium(IV)] [0254]
CO-10: Bis(2-methyl-8-quinolinato)-4-phenylphenolatoaluminum
(III)
[0255] Other electron-transporting materials include various
butadiene derivatives as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,356,429 and
various heterocyclic optical brighteners as described in U.S. Pat.
No. 4,539,507. Benzazoles and triazines are also useful
electron-transporting materials.
[0256] A preferred embodiment of the luminescent layer consists of
a host material doped with fluorescent dyes. Using this method,
highly efficient EL devices can be constructed. Simultaneously, the
color of the EL devices can be tuned by using fluorescent dyes of
different emission wavelengths in a common host material. Tang et
al. in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,769,292 has described this
dopant scheme in considerable details for EL devices using Alq as
the host material.
[0257] Shi et al. in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,935,721 has
described this dopant scheme in considerable details for the blue
emitting OLED devices using 9,10-di-(2-naphthyl)anthracene (ADN)
derivatives as the host material.
[0258] Derivatives of 9,10-di-(2-naphthyl)anthracene (Formula F)
constitute one class of useful non-electroluminescent compounds
capable of supporting electroluminescence, and are particularly
suitable for light emission of wavelengths longer than 400 nm,
e.g., blue, green, yellow, orange or red. ##STR31## wherein:
R.sup.1, R.sup.2, R.sup.3, R.sup.4, R.sup.5, and R.sup.6 represent
hydrogen or one or more substituents selected from the following
groups:
[0259] Group 1: hydrogen, alkyl and alkoxy groups typically having
from 1 to 24 carbon atoms;
[0260] Group 2: a ring group, typically having from 6 to 20 carbon
atoms;
[0261] Group 3: the atoms necessary to complete a carbocyclic fused
ring group such as naphthyl, anthracenyl, pyrenyl, and perylenyl
groups, typically having from 6 to 30 carbon atoms;
[0262] Group 4: the atoms necessary to complete a heterocyclic
fused ring group such as furyl, thienyl, pyridyl, and quinolinyl
groups, typically having from 5 to 24 carbon atoms;
[0263] Group 5: an alkoxylamino, alkylamino, and arylamino group
typically having from 1 to 24 carbon atoms; and
[0264] Group 6: fluorine, chlorine, bromine and cyano radicals.
[0265] Illustrative examples include 9,10-di-(2-naphthyl)anthracene
(ADN) and 2-t-butyl-9,10-di-(2-naphthyl)anthracene (TBADN). Other
anthracene derivatives can be useful as an non-electroluminescent
compound in the LEL, such as diphenylanthracene and its
derivatives, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,927,247. Styrylarylene
derivatives as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,121,029 and JP 08333569
are also useful non-electroluminescent materials for blue emission.
For example, 9,10-bis[4-(2,2-diphenylethenyl)phenyl]anthracene,
4,4'-Bis(2,2-diphenylethenyl)-1,1'-biphenyl (DPVBi) and
phenylanthracene derivatives as described in EP 681,019 are useful
non-electroluminescent materials for blue emission. Another useful
non-electroluminescent material capable of supporting
electroluminescence for blue-light emission is H-1 and its
derivatives shown as follows: ##STR32##
[0266] Benzazole derivatives (Formula G) constitute another class
of useful non-electroluminescent components capable of supporting
electroluminescence, and are particularly suitable for light
emission of wavelengths longer than 400 nm, e.g., blue, green,
yellow, orange or red. ##STR33## where:
[0267] n is an integer of 3 to 8;
[0268] Z is --O, --NR or --S where R is H or a substituent; and
[0269] R' represents one or more optional substituents where R and
each R' are H or alkyl groups such as propyl, t-butyl, and heptyl
groups typically having from 1 to 24 carbon atoms; carbocyclic or
heterocyclic ring groups such as phenyl and naphthyl, furyl,
thienyl, pyridyl, and quinolinyl groups and atoms necessary to
complete a fused aromatic ring group typically having from 5 to 20
carbon atoms; and halo such as chloro, and fluoro;
[0270] L is a linkage unit usually comprising an alkyl or ary group
which conjugately or unconjugately connects the multiple benzazoles
together.
[0271] An example of a useful benzazole is
2,2',2''-(1,3,5-benzenetriyl)tris[1-phenyl-1H-benzimidazole],
(TPBI).
[0272] Distyrylarylene derivatives as described in U.S. Pat. No.
5,121,029 are also useful non-electroluminescent component
materials in the LEL.
[0273] Desirable fluorescent electroluminescent components include
groups derived from fused ring, heterocyclic and other compounds
such as anthracene, tetracene, xanthene, perylene, rubrene, pyran,
rhodamine, quinacridone, dicyanomethylenepyran, thiopyran,
polymethine, pyrilium thiapyrilium, and carbostyryl compounds.
Illustrative examples of useful electroluminescent components
include, but are not limited to, the following: TABLE-US-00001
##STR34## ##STR35## ##STR36## ##STR37## ##STR38## ##STR39##
##STR40## ##STR41## ##STR42## ##STR43## X R1 R2 X R1 R2 L9 O H H
L23 O H H L10 O H Methyl L24 O H Methyl L11 O Methyl H L25 O Methyl
H L12 O Methyl Methyl L26 O Methyl Methyl L13 O H t-butyl L27 O H
t-butyl L14 O t-butyl H L28 O t-butyl H L15 O t-butyl t-butyl L29 O
t-butyl t-butyl L16 S H H L30 S H H L17 S H Methyl L31 S H Methyl
L18 S Methyl H L32 S Methyl H L19 S Methyl Methyl L33 S Methyl
Methyl L20 S H t-butyl L34 S H t-butyl L21 S t-butyl H L35 S
t-butyl H L22 S t-butyl t-butyl L36 S t-butyl t-butyl ##STR44##
##STR45## R R L37 phenyl L41 phenyl L38 methyl L42 methyl L39
t-butyl L43 t-butyl L40 mesityl L44 mesityl ##STR46## ##STR47##
##STR48## ##STR49##
[0274] Many blue fluorescent dopants are known in the art, and are
contemplated for use in the practice of this invention. Blue
dopants or light-emitting materials can be coated as 0.01 to 50% by
weight into the host material, but typically coated as 0.01 to 30%
and more typically coated as 0.01 to 15% by weight into the host
material. The thickness of the blue-light-emitting can be any
suitable thickness. It can be in the range of from 10 to 100 nm.
Particularly useful classes of blue-emitting dopants include
perylene and its derivatives such as 2,5,8,11-tetra-tert-butyl
perylene (TBP), and distyrylamine derivatives as described in U.S.
Pat. No. 5,121,029, such as L47 (structure shown above) Another
useful class of blue-emitting dopants is represented by Formula 2,
known as a bis(azinyloamine borane complex, and is described in
commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,661,023 (Feb. 9, 2003) by
Benjamin P. Hoag et al., entitled "Organic Element for
Electroluminescent Devices"; the disclosure of which is
incorporated herein. ##STR50## wherein:
[0275] A and A' represent independent azine ring systems
corresponding to 6-membered aromatic ring systems containing at
least one nitrogen;
[0276] each X.sup.a and X.sup.b is an independently selected
substituent, two of which may join to form a fused ring to A or
A';
[0277] m and n are independently 0 to 4;
[0278] Z.sup.a and Z.sup.b are independently selected substituents;
and
[0279] 1, 2, 3, 4, 1', 2', 3', and 4' are independently selected as
either carbon or nitrogen atoms.
[0280] Desirably, the azine rings are either quinolinyl or
isoquinolinyl rings such that 1, 2, 3, 4, 1', 2', 3', and 4' are
all carbon; m and n are equal to or greater than 2; and X.sup.a and
X.sup.b represent at least two carbon substituents which join to
form an aromatic ring. Desirably, Z.sup.a and Z.sup.b are fluorine
atoms.
[0281] Preferred embodiments further include devices where the two
fused ring systems are quinoline or isoquinoline systems; the aryl
or heterocyclic substituent is a phenyl group; there are present at
least two X.sup.a groups and two X.sup.b groups which join to form
a 6-6 fused ring, the fused ring systems are fused at the 1-2, 3-4,
1'-2', or 3'-4' positions, respectively; one or both of the fused
rings is substituted by a phenyl group; and where the dopant is
depicted in Formulae 3, 4, or 5. ##STR51## wherein each X.sup.c,
X.sup.d, X.sup.e, X.sup.f, X.sup.g and X.sup.h is hydrogen or an
independently selected substituent, one of which must be an aryl or
heterocyclic group.
[0282] Desirably, the azine rings are either quinolinyl or
isoquinolinyl rings such that 1, 2, 3, 4, 1', 2', 3', and 4' are
all carbon; m and n are equal to or greater than 2; and X.sup.a and
X.sup.b represent at least two carbon substituents which join to
form an aromatic ring, and one is an aryl or substituted aryl
group. Desirably, Z.sup.a and Z.sup.b are fluorine atoms.
[0283] Illustrative, non-limiting examples of boron compounds
complexed by two ring nitrogens of a deprotonated bis(azinyl)amine
ligand, wherein the two ring nitrogens are members of different 6,6
fused ring systems in which at least one of the systems contains an
aryl or heterocyclic substituent, useful in the present invention
are the following: ##STR52## ##STR53## ##STR54##
[0284] Coumarins represent a useful class of green-emitting dopants
as described by Tang et al. in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,769,292 and
6,020,078. Green dopants or light-emitting materials can be coated
as 0.01 to 50% by weight into the host material, but typically
coated as 0.01 to 30% and more typically coated as 0.01 to 15% by
weight into the host material. Examples of useful green-emitting
coumarins include C545T and C545TB. Quinacridones represent another
useful class of green-emitting dopants. Useful quinacridones are
described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,593,788, publication JP 09-13026A, and
commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/184,356 filed
Jun. 27, 2002 by Lelia Cosimbescu, entitled "Device Containing
Green Organic Light-Emitting Diode", the disclosure of which is
incorporated herein.
[0285] Examples of particularly useful green-emitting quinacridones
are shown below: ##STR55## G-2
[0286] Formula 6 below represents another class of green-emitting
dopants useful in the invention. ##STR56## wherein:
[0287] A and A' represent independent azine ring systems
corresponding to 6-membered aromatic ring systems containing at
least one nitrogen;
[0288] each X.sup.a and X.sup.b is an independently selected
substituent, two of which may join to form a fused ring to A or
A';
[0289] m and n are independently 0 to 4;
[0290] Y is H or a substituent;
[0291] Z.sup.a and Z.sup.b are independently selected substituents;
and
[0292] 1, 2, 3, 4, 1', 2', 3', and 4' are independently selected as
either carbon or nitrogen atoms.
[0293] In the device, 1, 2, 3, 4, 1', 2', 3', and 4' are
conveniently all carbon atoms. The device may desirably contain at
least one or both of ring A or A' that contains substituents joined
to form a fused ring. In one useful embodiment, there is present at
least one X.sup.a or X.sup.b group selected from the group
consisting of halide and alkyl, aryl, alkoxy, and aryloxy groups.
In another embodiment, there is present a Z.sup.a and Z.sup.b group
independently selected from the group consisting of fluorine and
alkyl, aryl, alkoxy and aryloxy groups. A desirable embodiment is
where Z.sup.a and Z.sup.b are F. Y is suitably hydrogen or a
substituent such as an alkyl, aryl, or heterocyclic group.
[0294] The emission wavelength of these compounds may be adjusted
to some extent by appropriate substitution around the central
bis(azinyl)methene boron group to meet a color aim, namely green.
Some examples of useful Formulas follow: ##STR57##
[0295] Naphthacenes and derivatives thereof also represent a useful
class of emitting dopants, which can be used as stabilizers. These
dopant materials can be coated as 0.01 to 50% by weight into the
host material, but typically coated as 0.01 to 30% and more
typically coated as 0.01 to 15% by weight into the host material.
Naphthacene derivative Y-1 (alias t-BuDPN) below, is an example of
a dopant material used as a stabilizer: ##STR58## Hole-Blocking
Layer (HBL)
[0296] As described previously, in addition to suitable hosts and
transporting materials, an OLED device according to the invention
also includes at least one hole-blocking layer 135 placed between
the electron-transporting layer 136 and the light-emitting layer
134 to help confine the excitons and recombination events to the
light-emitting layer comprising co-hosts and a phosphorescent
emitter. In this case, there should be an energy barrier for hole
migration from co-hosts into the hole-blocking layer, while
electrons should pass readily from the hole-blocking layer into the
light-emitting layer comprising co-host materials and a
phosphorescent emitter. The first requirement entails that the
ionization potential of the hole-blocking layer 135 be larger than
that of the light-emitting layer 134, desirably by 0.2 eV or more.
The second requirement entails that the electron affinity of the
hole-blocking layer 135 not greatly exceed that of the
light-emitting layer 134, and desirably be either less than that of
light-emitting layer or not exceed that of the light-emitting layer
by more than about 0.2 eV.
[0297] When used with an electron-transporting layer whose
characteristic luminescence is green, such as an Alq-containing
electron-transporting layer as described below, the requirements
concerning the energies of the highest occupied molecular orbital
(HOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) of the
material of the hole-blocking layer frequently result in a
characteristic luminescence of the hole-blocking layer at shorter
wavelengths than that of the electron-transporting layer, such as
blue, violet, or ultraviolet luminescence. Thus, it is desirable
that the characteristic luminescence of the material of a
hole-blocking layer be blue, violet, or ultraviolet. It is further
desirable that the triplet energy of the hole-blocking material be
greater than that of the phosphorescent material. Suitable
hole-blocking materials are described in WO 00/70655A2, WO 01/41512
and WO 01/93642 A1. Two examples of useful hole-blocking materials
are bathocuproine (BCP) and
bis(2-methyl-8-quinolinolato)(4-phenylphenolato)aluminum(III)
(BAlq). The characteristic luminescence of BCP is in the
ultraviolet, and that of BAlq is blue. Metal complexes other than
BAlq are also known to block holes and excitons as described in US
20030068528. When a hole-blocking layer is used, its thickness can
be between 2 and 100 nm and suitably between 5 and 10 nm.
Electron-Transporting Laver (ETL)
[0298] The electron transport layer has been discussed previously.
Preferred thin film-forming materials for use in forming the
electron-transporting layer of the organic EL devices of this
invention are metal chelated oxinoid compounds, including chelates
of oxine itself (also commonly referred to as 8-quinolinol or
8-hydroxyquinoline). Such compounds help to inject and transport
electrons and exhibit both high levels of performance and are
readily fabricated in the form of thin films. Exemplary of
contemplated oxinoid compounds are those satisfying structural
Formula (E), previously described.
[0299] Other electron-transporting materials include various
butadiene derivatives as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,356,429 and
various heterocyclic optical brighteners as described in U.S. Pat.
No. 4,539,507. Benzazoles satisfying structural Formula (G) are
also useful electron-transporting materials.
[0300] In some instances, the electron transport and light-emitting
layers can optionally be collapsed into a single layer that serves
the function of supporting both light emission and
electron-transportation. The thickness of the ETL can be any
suitable thickness. It can be in the range of from 0.1 nm to 100
nm.
Cathode
[0301] When light emission is through the anode, the cathode layer
140 used in this invention can be comprised of nearly any
conductive material. Desirable materials have good film-forming
properties to ensure good contact with the underlying organic
layer, promote electron injection at low voltage, and have good
stability. Useful cathode materials often contain a low work
function metal (<4.0 eV) or metal alloy. Cathode materials are
comprised of Mg:Ag, Al:Li and Mg:Al alloys. One preferred cathode
material is comprised of a Mg:Ag alloy wherein the percentage of
silver is in the range of 1 to 20%, as described in U.S. Pat. No.
4,885,221. Another suitable class of cathode materials includes
bilayers comprised of a thin layer of a low work function metal or
metal salt capped with a thicker layer of conductive metal. One
such cathode is comprised of a thin layer of LiF followed by a
thicker layer of Al as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,677,572. Other
useful cathode materials include, but are not limited to, those
disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,059,861, U.S. Pat. No. 5,059,862, and
U.S. Pat. No. 6,140,763.
[0302] When light emission is viewed through the cathode, the
cathode must be transparent or nearly transparent. For such
applications, metals must be thin or one must use transparent
conductive oxides, or a combination of these materials. Optically
transparent cathodes have been described in more detail in U.S.
Pat. No. 5,776,623. Cathode materials can be deposited by
evaporation, sputtering, or chemical vapor deposition. When needed,
patterning can be achieved through many well known methods
including, but not limited to, through-mask deposition, integral
shadow masking as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,276,380 and EP 0 732
868, laser ablation, and selective chemical vapor deposition.
Deposition of Organic Layers
[0303] The organic materials mentioned above are suitably deposited
through sublimation, but can be deposited from a solvent with an
optional binder to improve film formation. If the material is a
polymer, solvent deposition is usually preferred. The material to
be deposited by sublimation can be vaporized from a sublimator
"boat" often comprised of a tantalum material, e.g., as described
in U.S. Pat. No. 6,237,529, or can be first coated onto a donor
sheet and then sublimed in closer proximity to the substrate.
Layers with a mixture of materials can utilize separate sublimator
boats or the materials can be pre-mixed and coated from a single
boat or donor sheet. Patterned deposition can be achieved using
shadow masks, integral shadow masks (U.S. Pat. No. 5,294,870),
spatially-defined thermal dye transfer from a donor sheet (U.S.
Pat. No. 5,851,709 and U.S. Pat. No.6,066,357) and inkjet method
(U.S. Pat. No. 6,066,357).
[0304] Organic materials useful in making OLEDs, for example
organic hole-transporting materials, organic light-emitting
materials doped with an organic electroluminescent components have
relatively complex molecular structures with relatively weak
molecular bonding forces, so that care must be taken to avoid
decomposition of the organic material(s) during physical vapor
deposition. The aforementioned organic materials are synthesized to
a relatively high degree of purity, and are provided in the form of
powders, flakes, or granules. Such powders or flakes have been used
heretofore for placement into a physical vapor deposition source
wherein heat is applied for forming a vapor by sublimation or
vaporization of the organic material, the vapor condensing on a
substrate to provide an organic layer thereon.
[0305] Several problems have been observed in using organic
powders, flakes, or granules in physical vapor deposition: These
powders, flakes, or granules are difficult to handle. These organic
materials generally have a relatively low physical density and
undesirably low thermal conductivity, particularly when placed in a
physical vapor deposition source which is disposed in a chamber
evacuated to a reduced pressure as low as 10.sup.-6 Torr.
Consequently, powder particles, flakes, or granules are heated only
by radiative heating from a heated source, and by conductive
heating of particles or flakes directly in contact with heated
surfaces of the source. Powder particles, flakes, or granules which
are not in contact with heated surfaces of the source are not
effectively heated by conductive heating due to a relatively low
particle-to-particle contact area; This can lead to nonuniform
heating of such organic materials in physical vapor deposition
sources. Therefore, result in potentially nonuniform
vapor-deposited organic layers formed on a substrate.
[0306] These organic powders can be consolidated into a solid
pellet. These solid pellets consolidating into a solid pellet from
a mixture of a sublimable organic material powder are easier to
handle. Consolidation of organic powder into a solid pellet can be
accomplished with relatively simple tools. A solid pellet formed
from mixture comprising one or more non-luminescent organic
non-electroluminescent component materials or luminescent
electroluminescent component materials or mixture of
non-electroluminescent component and electroluminescent component
materials can be placed into a physical vapor deposition source for
making organic layer. Such consolidated pellets can be used in a
physical vapor deposition apparatus.
[0307] In one aspect, the present invention provides a method of
making an organic layer from compacted pellets of organic materials
on a substrate, which will form part of an OLED.
[0308] One preferred method for depositing the materials of the
present invention is described in US 2004/0255857 and U.S. Ser. No.
10/945,941 where different source evaporators are used to evaporate
each of the materials of the present invention. A second preferred
method involves the use of flash evaporation where materials are
metered along a material feed path in which the material feed path
is temperature controlled. Such a preferred method is described in
the following co-assigned patent applications: U.S. Ser. No.
10/784,585; U.S. Ser. No. 10/805,980; U.S. Ser. No. 10/945,940;
U.S. Ser. No. 10/945,941; U.S. Ser. No. 11/050,924; and U.S. Ser.
No. 11/050,934. Using this second method, each material may be
evaporated using different source evaporators or the solid
materials may be mixed prior to evaporation using the same source
evaporator.
Encapsulation
[0309] Most OLED devices are sensitive to moisture and/or oxygen so
they are commonly sealed in an inert atmosphere such as nitrogen or
argon, along with a desiccant such as alumina, bauxite, calcium
sulfate, clays, silica gel, zeolites, alkaline metal oxides,
alkaline earth metal oxides, sulfates, or metal halides and
perchlorates. Methods for encapsulation and desiccation include,
but are not limited to, those described in U.S. Pat. No.
6,226,890.
Optical Optimization
[0310] OLED devices of this invention can employ various well-known
optical effects in order to enhance its properties if desired. This
includes optimizing layer thicknesses to yield maximum light
transmission, providing dielectric mirror structures, replacing
reflective electrodes with light-absorbing electrodes, providing
anti-glare or anti-reflection coatings over the display, providing
a polarizing medium over the display, or providing colored, neutral
density, or color-conversion filters over the display. Filters,
polarizers, and anti-glare or anti-reflection coatings may be
specifically provided over the cover or as part of the cover.
[0311] The invention and its advantages are further illustrated by
the specific examples that follow. The term "percentage" or
"percent" and the symbol "%" indicate the volume percent (or a
thickness ratio as measured on a thin film thickness monitor) of a
particular first or second compound of the total material in the
layer of the invention and other components of the devices. If more
than one second compound is present, the total volume of the second
compounds can also be expressed as a percentage of the total
material in the layer of the invention.
EXAMPLE 1
Synthesis of Compound A-16
[0312] ##STR59##
[0313] Compound (3), eq. 1, was prepared in the following manner.
Under a nitrogen atmosphere, acetylenic compound (2) (2.0 g, 12
mMole), was dissolved in dimethylformamide (DMF) (100 mL) and the
solution cool to 0.degree. C. Potassium t-butoxide (KBu.sup.tO)
(1.4 g, 12 mMole), was added and the mixture stirred well for
approximately 15 minutes. To this mixture was then added the
benzophenone (1) (3.53 g, 30 mMole). Stirring was continued at
0.degree. C. for approximately 30 minutes and then allowed to come
to room temperature over a 1-hour period. At the end of this time
the solution was cooled to 0.degree. C. and the reaction treated
with saturated sodium chloride (20 mL). The mixture was then
diluted with ethyl acetate, washed with 2N-HCl (3 times), dried
over MgSO.sub.4, filtered and concentrated under reduced pressure.
The crude product was triturated with petroleum ether to give the
product as an off-white solid. The yield of compound (3) was 3.0
g.
[0314] Compound (3) (7.0 g, 15 mMole) was dissolved in methylene
chloride (CH.sub.2Cl.sub.2) (70 mL), and stirred at 0.degree. C.
under a nitrogen atmosphere. To this solution was added
triethylamine (NEt.sub.3) (1.56 g, 15 mMole) and then the mixture
was treated drop by drop with methanesulfonyl chloride
(CH.sub.3SO.sub.2Cl) (1.92 g, 15 mMole), keeping the temperature of
the reaction in the range 0-5.degree. C. After the addition, the
solution was stirred at 0.degree. C. for 30 minutes, and then
allowed to warm to room temperature over 1 hour. The reaction was
then heated to reflux, distilling off the methylene chloride
solvent. The methylene chloride solvent was gradually replaced by
adding xylenes (a total of 70 mL). When the internal temperature of
the reaction reached 80.degree. C., collidine (2.40 g, 19.82
mMole), dissolved in xylenes (10 mL) was added drop by drop over a
10-minute period. The temperature was then raised to 110.degree. C.
and held at this temperature for 4 hours. After this period the
reaction was cooled and concentrated under reduced pressure. The
oily residue was stirred with methanol (70 mL) to give the crude
product. This material was filtered off, washed with methanol and
petroleum ether to give inventive compound A-16 as a bright red
solid. The yield was 1.5 g and A-16 had a melting point of
300-305.degree. C. The product may be further purified by
sublimation (250.degree. C. @ 200 millitorr) with a N.sub.2 carrier
gas.
EXAMPLE 2
Determination of LUMO Values
[0315] An important relationship exists when selecting the first
compound and second compound(s) of the invention. A comparison of
the LUMO values of the first and second compounds in the layer of
the invention must be carefully considered. To obtain a drive
voltage reduction over devices that contain only a first compound
or only a second compound, there must be a difference in the LUMO
values of the compounds. The first compound must have a lower LUMO
(more negative) value than the second compound, or compounds.
[0316] The LUMO values are typically determined experimentally by
electrochemical methods. A Model CH1660 electrochemical analyzer
(CH Instruments, Inc., Austin, Tex.) was employed to carry out the
electrochemical measurements. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and
Osteryoung square-wave voltammetry (SWV) were used to characterize
the redox properties of the compounds of interest. A glassy carbon
(GC) disk electrode (A=0.071 cm.sup.2) was used as working
electrode. The GC electrode was polished with 0.05 .mu.m alumina
slurry, followed by sonication cleaning in Milli-Q deionized water
twice and rinsed with acetone in between water cleaning. The
electrode was finally cleaned and activated by electrochemical
treatment prior to use. A platinum wire served as counter electrode
and a saturated calomel electrode (SCE) was used as a
quasi-reference electrode to complete a standard 3-electrode
electrochemical cell. Ferrocene (Fc) was used as an internal
standard (E.sub.Fc=0.50 V vs. SCE in 1:1 acetonitrile/toluene, 0.1
M TBAF). A mixture of acetonitrile and toluene (50%/150% v/v, or
1:1) was used as the organic solvent system. The supporting
electrolyte, tetrabutylammonium tetraflouroborate (TBAF) was
recrystallized twice in isopropanol and dried under vacuum. All
solvents used were low water grade (<20 ppm water). The testing
solution was purged with high purity nitrogen gas for approximately
5 minutes to remove oxygen and a nitrogen blanket was kept on the
top of the solution during the course of the experiments. All
measurements were performed at ambient temperature of
25.+-.1.degree. C. The oxidation and reduction potentials were
determined either by averaging the anodic peak potential (Ep,a) and
cathodic peak potential (Ep,c) for reversible or quasi-reversible
electrode processes or on the basis of peak potentials (in SWV) for
irreversible processes. All LUMO values pertaining to this
application are calculated from the following:
Formal reduction potentials vs. SCE for reversible or
quasi-reversible processes; E.sup.o'.sub.red=(E.sub.pa+E.sub.pc)/2
Formal reduction potentials vs. Fc; E.sup.o'.sub.red vs.
Fc=(E.sup.o'.sub.red vs. SCE)-E.sub.Fc where E.sub.Fc is the
oxidation potential E.sub.ox, of ferrocene; Estimated lower limit
for LUMO; LUMO=HOMO.sub.Fc-(E.sup.o'.sub.red vs. Fc) where
HOMO.sub.Fc (Highest Occupied Molecular Orbital for ferrocene)=-4.8
eV.
[0317] The LUMO values for some first and second compounds are
listed in Table 1. To make a selection of compounds useful in the
invention, the first compound should have a lower LUMO value than
its paired second compound(s). TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 1 LUMO Values
for Representative Materials Material LUMO (eV) A-7 (B-1) -2.50 A-8
(B-2) -2.50 A-10 -2.44 A-11 -2.45 A-12 -2.40 A-13 -2.77 A-14 -2.83
A-15 -3.02 A-16 -2.72 A-17 -3.24 A-18 -2.52 A-19 -2.83 A-22 -2.35
B-4 -2.4 B-5 -2.3 B-6 -2.3 Liq.sup.1 -1.85 .sup.1Liq represents
lithium quinolate.
EXAMPLE 3
Determination of Low-Voltage Electron Transport Materials
[0318] Materials were tested to determine if they were low voltage
electron transport materials by incorporating them alone into the
electron-transporting layer of a device. Devices were constructed
in the following manner.
[0319] A glass substrate coated with an 85 nm layer of indium-tin
oxide (ITO) as the anode was sequentially ultrasonicated in a
commercial detergent, rinsed in deionized water, degreased in
toluene vapor and exposed to oxygen plasma for about 1 min.
[0320] a) Over the ITO was deposited a 1 nm fluorocarbon (CF.sub.x)
hole-injecting layer (HIL) by plasma-assisted deposition of
CHF.sub.3.
[0321] b) A hole-transporting layer (HTL) of
N,N'-di-1-naphthalenyl-N,N'-diphenyl-4,4'-diaminobiphenyl (NPB)
having a thickness of 75 nm was then evaporated onto a).
[0322] c) A 35 nm light-emitting layer (LEL) of
tris(8-quinolinolato)aluminum (III) (Alq) was then deposited onto
the hole-transporting layer.
[0323] d) A 35 nm electron-transporting layer (ETL) of the
materials to be tested was then deposited onto the light-emitting
layer.
[0324] e) On top of the ETL was deposited a 0.5 nm layer of
LiF.
[0325] f) On top of the LiF layer was deposited a 130 nm layer of
Al to form the cathode.
[0326] The above sequence completed the deposition of the EL
device. The device was then hermetically packaged in a dry glove
box for protection.
[0327] Low voltage electron transport materials are materials that
when incorporated alone into the electron-transporting layer, as
described above, result in test voltages of 12 volts or less. Low
voltage electron transport materials with test voltages of 11
volts, or more suitably 10 volts or less are also useful as second
compounds of the invention while materials of 9 or 8 volts or less
are preferred as second compounds. Materials tested for low drive
voltages and the results are shown in Table 2. TABLE-US-00003 TABLE
2 Examples of Low Voltage Electron Transport Materials Voltage
Relative Sample Material Type (V) Voltage.sup.1 3-1 B-1 (Alq) Low
8.0 100 3-2 B-5 Low 9.9 124 3-3 B-6 Low 8.3 104 3-4 A-10 High 13.7
171 3-5 A-13 High 15.4 192 3-6 A-18 High 16.5 206 3-7 CBP.sup.2
High 14.3 179 3-8 Liq.sup.2 High 12.1 151 .sup.1Voltage relative to
B-1 (Alq) .sup.2CBP represents 4,4'-N,N'-dicarbazole-biphenyl
.sup.3Liq represents lithium quinolate.
[0328] Table 2 shows that compounds B-1, B-5 and B-6 qualify as low
voltage electron transport materials, while A-10, A-13, A-18 and
CBP do not.
[0329] In one embodiment, low voltage electron transport materials
have a test voltage, when examined in the manner shown in Example
3, no more than 50% higher than Alq and desirably no more than 25%
higher than Alq.
EXAMPLE 4
Fabrication of EL Devices 4-1 Thorough 4-6
[0330] EL devices, 4-1 through 4-6, satisfying the requirements of
the invention and for the purposes of comparison, were constructed
in the following manner.
[0331] A glass substrate coated with an 85 nm layer of indium-tin
oxide (ITO) as the anode was sequentially ultrasonicated in a
commercial detergent, rinsed in deionized water, degreased in
toluene vapor and exposed to oxygen plasma for about 1 min.
[0332] a) Over the ITO was deposited a 1 nm fluorocarbon (CF.sub.x)
hole-injecting layer (HIL) by plasma-assisted deposition of
CHF.sub.3.
[0333] b) A hole-transporting layer (HTL) of
N,N'-di-1-naphthalenyl-N,N'-diphenyl-4,4'-diaminobiphenyl (NPB)
having a thickness of 75 nm was then evaporated onto a).
[0334] c) A 35 nm light-emitting layer (LEL) of
4,4'-N,N'-dicarbazole-biphenyl (CBP) and 6% of
tris(2-phenyl-pyridinato-N,C.sup.2'-)Iridium(III) (Ir(ppy).sub.3)
was then deposited onto the hole-transporting layer.
[0335] d) A 10 nm hole-blocking layer of
bis(2-methyl-8-quinolinolato)(4-phenylphenolato)aluminum(III)
(BAlq) was then deposited on the light-emitting layer.
[0336] e) A 35 nm electron-transporting layer (ETL) including A-16
or B-1 or mixtures of the two, as indicated in indicated in Table
3, was then deposited onto the light-emitting layer.
[0337] f) On top of the ETL was deposited a 0.5 nm layer of LiF
electron-injecting layer.
[0338] g) On top of the LiF layer was deposited a 200 nm layer of
Al to form the cathode.
[0339] The above sequence completed the deposition of the EL
device. The device was then hermetically packaged in a dry glove
box for protection.
[0340] The cells thus formed were tested for luminous efficiency
and color at an operating current of 20 mA/cm.sup.2 and the results
are reported in Table 3a in the form of efficiency (w/A), luminance
yield (cd/A) and voltage (V).
[0341] The operational stability of these devices was also tested
at a current density of 20 mA/cm2 and at ambient temperature. The
time for the operating devices to fade to one half the initial
luminance (T.sub.50%) is reported in Table 3b. The increase in
voltage after 140 hours of operation is given as a percent change
in voltage (Table 3b). FIG. 2 shows the change in the relative
luminance for the devices with time (in hr), wherein the luminance
of each device was normalized initially. TABLE-US-00004 TABLE 3a
Device performance from Example 4. % First % Second Effi- Luminous
Compound Compound ciency Yield Voltage Device (A-16) (B-1) (W/A)
(Cd/A) (V) 4-1 0 100 0.203 31.3 12.2 Comparison 4-2 10 90 0.190
29.0 13.4 Inventive 4-3 25 75 0.191 29.2 12.7 Inventive 4-4 50 50
0.201 30.7 11.5 Inventive 4-5 75 25 0.203 31.1 10.5 Inventive 4-6
100 0 0.179 27.5 14.0 Comparison
[0342] TABLE-US-00005 TABLE 3b Additional device performance from
Example 4. % First % Second Compound Compound Voltage T.sub.50%
Device (A-16) (B-1) Change.sup.1 (hours) 4-1 0 100 66.3% 68.9
Comparison 4-2 10 90 55.5% 111.5 Inventive 4-3 25 75 52.3% 127.9
Inventive 4-4 50 50 55.8% 110.2 Inventive 4-5 75 25 54.0% 118.2
Inventive 4-6 100 0 83.5% 84.3 Comparison .sup.1After 140 hours of
operation.
[0343] It can be seen from Table 3a and 3b that the devices give
very high luminance and that the inventive devices had lower
voltage, longer lifetimes or both relative to the comparison
devices. The inventive devices also give a lower voltage rise
during operation. It can be seen from FIG. 2, that the inventive
devices give enhanced operational stability relative to the
comparative devices.
EXAMPLE 5
Fabrication of OLED Devices 5-1 through 5-6
[0344] EL devices, 5-1 through 5-6, satisfying the requirements of
the invention and for the purposes of comparison, were constructed
in the same manner as those described in Example 4, except the 35
nm electron-transporting layer (ETL) layer contained a mixture
of:
[0345] 1) A-16 and 2% lithium metal, or
[0346] 2) B-1 and 2% lithium metal, or
[0347] 3) A-1 6, B-1, and 2% lithium metal, the percentages B-1 and
A-16 in each device are indicated in indicated in Table 4.
[0348] The cells thus formed were tested for luminous efficiency
and color at an operating current of 20 mA/cm.sup.2 and the results
are reported in Table 4 in the form of efficiency (w/A), luminance
yield (cd/A), and voltage (V). TABLE-US-00006 TABLE 4 Device
performance from Example 5.sup.1. % First % Second Com- Com- Effi-
Luminous Volt- pound pound ciency Yield age T.sub.50% Device (A-16)
(B-1) (W/A) (Cd/A) (V) (hours) 5-1 0 98 0.205 31.4 11.0 95.0
Comparison 5-2 9 89 0.205 31.6 10.6 91.2 Inventive 5-3 24 74 0.203
31.2 10.1 111.0 Inventive 5-4 49 49 0.199 30.6 10.2 117.6 Inventive
5-5 74 24 0.197 30.3 10.8 102.4 Inventive 5-6 98 0 0.204 31.3 14.6
2.0 Comparison .sup.1All devices also contain 2% Li in the
electron-transporting layer.
[0349] It can be seen from Table 4 that the inventive devices had
lower voltage, longer lifetimes or both relative to the comparison
devices.
EXAMPLE 6
Fabrication of OLED Devices 6-1 Thorough 6-6
[0350] EL devices, 6-1 through 6-6, satisfying the requirements of
the invention and for the purposes of comparison, were constructed
in the following manner.
[0351] A glass substrate coated with an 85 nm layer of indium-tin
oxide (ITO) as the anode was sequentially ultrasonicated in a
commercial detergent, rinsed in deionized water, degreased in
toluene vapor and exposed to oxygen plasma for about 1 min.
[0352] a) Over the ITO was deposited a 1 nm fluorocarbon (CF.sub.x)
hole-injecting layer (HIL) by plasma-assisted deposition of
CHF.sub.3.
[0353] b) A hole-transporting layer (HTL) of
N,N'-di-1-naphthalenyl-N,N'-diphenyl-4,4'-diaminobiphenyl (NPB)
having a thickness of 115 nm was then evaporated onto a).
[0354] c) A 35 nm light-emitting layer (LEL) including 83%
bis(2-methyl-8-quinolinolato)(4-phenylphenolato)aluminum(III)
(BAlq), 15% NPB and 2% of
tris(1-phenylisoquinolinato-N,C.sup.2')Iridium(III)
(Ir(1-piq).sub.3) was then deposited onto the hole-transporting
layer.
[0355] d) A 10 nm hole-blocking layer of
bis(2-methyl-8-quinolinolato)(4-phenylphenolato)aluminum(III)
(BAlq) was then deposited on the light-emitting layer.
[0356] e) A 35 nm electron-transporting layer (ETL) including A-16
or B-1 or mixtures of the two, as indicated in indicated in Table
5, was then deposited onto the light-emitting layer.
[0357] f) On top of the ETL was deposited a 0.5 nm layer of
LiF.
[0358] g) On top of the LiF layer was deposited a 100 nm layer of
Al to form the cathode.
[0359] The above sequence completed the deposition of the EL
device. The device was then hermetically packaged in a dry glove
box for protection.
[0360] The cells thus formed were tested for luminous efficiency
and color at an operating current of 20 mA/cm.sup.2 and the results
are reported in Table 5 in the form of efficiency (w/A), luminance
yield (cd/A), and voltage (V). TABLE-US-00007 TABLE 5 Device
performance from Example 6. % First % Second Effi- Luminous
Compound Compound ciency Yield Voltage Device (A-16) (B-1) (W/A)
(Cd/A) (V) 6-1 0 100 0.200 9.79 10.2 Comparison 6-2 10 90 0.158
8.35 11.4 Inventive 6-3 25 75 0.161 8.33 11.1 Inventive 6-4 50 50
0.180 8.96 9.8 Inventive 6-5 75 25 0.190 9.30 9.1 Inventive 6-6 100
0 0.167 8.13 13.8 Comparison
[0361] It can be seen from Table 5 that the inventive devices
wherein the first compound was at 50% or 75% had lower voltages
relative to the comparison devices.
EXAMPLE 7
Fabrication of Light-Emitting Devices 7-1 through 7-6
[0362] EL devices, 7-1 through 7-6, satisfying the requirements of
the invention and for the purposes of comparison, were constructed
in the following in the same manner as those described in Example
6, except the 35 nm electron-transporting layer (ETL) layer
contained a mixture of:
[0363] 1) A-16 and 2% lithium metal, or
[0364] 2) B-1 and 2% lithium metal, or
[0365] 3) A-16, B-1, and 2% lithium metal,
the percentages B-1 and A-16 in each device are indicated in
indicated in Table 6.
[0366] The cells thus formed were tested for luminous efficiency
and color at an operating current of 20 mA/cm2 and the results are
reported in Table 6 in the form of efficiency (w/A), luminance
yield (cd/A), and voltage (V). TABLE-US-00008 TABLE 6 Device
performance from Example 7..sup.1 % First % Second Effi- Luminous
Compound Compound ciency Yield Voltage Device (A-16) (B-1) (W/A)
(Cd/A) (V) 7-1 0 98 0.174 8.42 12.2 Comparison 7-2 9 89 0.184 8.98
11.5 Inventive 7-3 24 74 0.182 8.81 9.2 Inventive 7-4 49 49 0.188
9.09 9.0 Inventive 7-5 74 24 0.181 8.78 9.3 Inventive 7-6 98 0
0.194 9.41 13.3 Comparison .sup.1All devices also contain 2% Li in
the electron-transporting layer.
[0367] It can be seen from Table 6 that the inventive devices had
lower drive voltage relative to the comparison devices.
EXAMPLE 8
Fabrication of OLED Devices 8-1 Thorough 8-6
[0368] EL devices, 8-1 through 8-6, satisfying the requirements of
the invention and for the purposes of comparison, were constructed
in the following manner.
[0369] A glass substrate coated with an 85 nm layer of indium-tin
oxide (ITO) as the anode was sequentially ultrasonicated in a
commercial detergent, rinsed in deionized water, degreased in
toluene vapor and exposed to oxygen plasma for about 1 min.
[0370] a) Over the ITO was deposited a 1 nm fluorocarbon (CF.sub.x)
hole-injecting layer (HIL) by plasma-assisted deposition of
CHF.sub.3.
[0371] b) A hole-transporting layer (HTL) of
N,N'-di-1-naphthalenyl-N,N'-diphenyl-4,4'-diaminobiphenyl (NPB)
having a thickness of 115 nm was then evaporated onto a).
[0372] c) A 35 nm light-emitting layer (LEL) including 92%
bis(2-methyl-8-quinolinolato)(4-phenylphenolato)aluminum(III)
(BAlq) and 8% of
tris(1-phenylisoquinolinato-N,C.sup.2')Iridium(III)
(Ir(1-piq).sub.3) was then deposited onto the hole-transporting
layer.
[0373] d) A 10 nm hole-blocking layer of
bis(2-methyl-8-quinolinolato)(4-phenylphenolato)aluminum(III)
(BAlq) was then deposited on the light-emitting layer.
[0374] e) A 40 nm electron-transporting layer (ETL) including A-16
or B-1 or mixtures of the two, as indicated in indicated in Table
7, was then deposited onto the light-emitting layer.
[0375] f) On top of the ETL was deposited a 0.5 nm layer of
LiF.
[0376] g) On top of the LiF layer was deposited a 100 nm layer of
Al to form the cathode.
[0377] The above sequence completed the deposition of the EL
device. The device was then hermetically packaged in a dry glove
box for protection.
[0378] The cells thus formed were tested for luminous efficiency
and color at an operating current of 20 mA/cm.sup.2 and the results
are reported in Table 7 in the form of efficiency (w/A), luminance
yield (cd/A), and voltage (V). TABLE-US-00009 TABLE 7 Device
performance from Example 8. % First % Second Effi- Luminous
Compound Compound ciency Yield Voltage Device (A-16) (B-1) (W/A)
(Cd/A) (V) 8-1 0 100 0.134 6.23 14.5 Comparison 8-2 10 90 0.133
6.22 17.2 Inventive 8-3 25 75 0.136 6.30 15.9 Inventive 8-4 50 50
0.139 6.43 13.8 Inventive 8-5 75 25 0.148 6.87 12.0 Inventive 8-6
100 0 0.114 5.29 18.8 Comparison
[0379] It can be seen from Table 7 that when the first compound was
used at a level of 50% or 75%, the inventive devices had lower
voltages relative to the comparison devices. In these cases the
inventive devices also exhibited higher luminance.
EXAMPLE 9
Fabrication of Light-Emitting Devices 9-1 through 9-6
[0380] EL devices, 9-1 through 9-6, satisfying the requirements of
the invention and for the purposes of comparison, were constructed
in the following in the same manner as those described in Example
8, except the 35 nm electron-transporting layer (ETL) layer
contained a mixture of:
[0381] 1) A-16 and 2% lithium metal, or
[0382] 2) B-1 and 2% lithium metal, or
[0383] 3) A-16, B-1, and 2% lithium metal, the percentages B-1 and
A-16 in each device are indicated in indicated in Table 8.
[0384] The cells thus formed were tested for luminous efficiency
and color at an operating current of 20 mA/cm.sup.2 and the results
are reported in Table 8 in the form of efficiency (w/A), luminance
yield (cd/A) , and voltage (V). TABLE-US-00010 TABLE 8 Device
performance from Example 9..sup.1 % First % Second Effi- Luminous
Compound Compound ciency Yield Voltage Device (A-16) (B-1) (W/A)
(Cd/A) (V) 9-1 0 98 0.146 6.80 12.7 Comparison 9-2 9 89 0.148 6.84
11.9 Inventive 9-3 24 74 0.149 6.88 11.3 Inventive 9-4 49 49 0.149
6.94 11.1 Inventive 9-5 74 24 0.144 6.70 11.7 Inventive 9-6 98 0
0.134 6.23 17.6 Comparison .sup.1All devices also contain 2% Li in
the electron-transporting layer.
[0385] It can be seen from Table 8 that the inventive devices had
lower voltage relative to the comparison devices.
EXAMPLE 9
Fabrication of Comparison Devices 10-1 through 10-6
[0386] EL devices, 10-1 through 10-6, for the purposes of
comparison, were constructed in the following in the manner. A
glass substrate coated with an 85 nm layer of indium-tin oxide
(ITO) as the anode was sequentially ultrasonicated in a commercial
detergent, rinsed in deionized water, degreased in toluene vapor
and exposed to oxygen plasma for about 1 min.
[0387] a) Over the ITO was deposited a 1 nm fluorocarbon (CF.sub.x)
hole-injecting layer (HIL) by plasma-assisted deposition of
CHF.sub.3.
[0388] b) A hole-transporting layer (HTL) of
N,N'-di-1-naphthalenyl-N,N'-diphenyl-4,4'-diaminobiphenyl (NPB)
having a thickness of 75 nm was then evaporated onto a).
[0389] c) A 35 nm light-emitting layer (LEL) of
tris(8-quinolinolato)aluminum (III) (Alq) was then deposited onto
the hole-transporting layer.
[0390] d) A 35 nm electron-transporting layer (ETL) of Alq or
lithium quinolate (Liq) or mixtures of the two, as indicated in
indicated in Table 10, was then deposited onto the light-emitting
layer.
[0391] e) On top of the ETL was deposited a 0.5 nm layer of
LiF.
[0392] f) On top of the LiF layer was deposited a 100 nm layer of
Al to form the cathode.
[0393] The above sequence completed the deposition of the EL
device. The device was then hermetically packaged in a dry glove
box for protection.
[0394] The cells thus formed were tested for luminous efficiency
and color at an operating current of 20 mA/cm.sup.2 and the results
are reported in Table 8 in the form of efficiency (w/A), luminance
yield (cd/A), and voltage (V). TABLE-US-00011 TABLE 9 Device
performance from Example 10. Percent Luminous Percent B-1
Efficiency Yield Voltage Device Liq.sup.1 (Alq) (W/A) (Cd/A) (V)
10-1 0 100 0.024 3.23 8.29 Comparison 10-2 10 90 0.025 3.40 8.49
Comparison 10-3 25 75 0.025 3.36 8.44 Comparison 10-4 50 50 0.023
3.18 8.92 Comparison 10-5 75 25 0.020 2.75 10.90 Comparison 10-6
100 0 0.020 2.69 12.10 Comparison .sup.1Liq represents lithium
quinolate.
[0395] It can be seen from Table 9 that the devices using mixtures
of Alq and Liq as the electron-transporting materials did not give
a voltage reduction relative to the devices using only Alq.
[0396] The invention has been described in detail with particular
reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, but it will be
understood that variations and modifications can be effected within
the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, multiple second
compounds can be used in said further layer of the invention as
long as they have the correct LUMO values. In addition, the
invention can be used in devices emitting any colored light and
said layer can be adjacent to other layers on either side, between
the cathode and the LEL.
[0397] The patents and other publications referred to are
incorporated herein in their entirety.
PARTS LIST
[0398] 100 OLED [0399] 110 Substrate [0400] 120 Anode [0401] 130
Hole-Injecting layer (HIL) [0402] 132 Hole-Transporting layer (HTL)
[0403] 134 Light-Emitting layer (LEL) [0404] 135 Hole-Blocking
Layer (HBL) [0405] 136 Electron-Transporting layer (ETL) [0406] 138
Electron-Injecting layer (EIL) [0407] 140 Cathode [0408] 150
Voltage/Current Source [0409] 160 Electrical Connectors
* * * * *