Efficient light detection in the near-infrared (NIR) wavelength region is central to emerging applications such as medical imaging and machine vision. An organic upconverter (OUC) consists of a NIR-sensitive organic photodetector (OPD) and an visible organic light-emitting diode (OLED), connected in series. The device converts NIR light directly to visible light, allowing imaging of a NIR scene in the visible. Here, we present an OUC composed of a NIR-selective squaraine dye-based OPD and a fluorescent OLED. The OPD has a peak sensitivity at 980 nm and an internal photon-to-current conversion efficiency of ∼100%. The OUC conversion efficiency (0.27%) of NIR to visible light is close to the expected maximum. The materials of the OUC multilayer stack absorb very little light in the visible wavelength range. In combination with an optimized semitransparent metal top electrode, this enabled the fabrication of transparent OUCs with an average visible transmittance of 65% and a peak transmittance of 80% at 620 nm. Visibly transparent OUCs are interesting for window-integrated electronic circuits or imaging systems that allow for the simultaneous detection of directly transmitted visible and NIR upconverted light.
White-blue electroluminescent emission with a voltage bias less than 10 V was achieved in rf sputter-deposited amorphous carbon nitride (a-CN) and amorphous silicon carbon nitride (a-SiCN) thin-film-based devices. The heterojunction structures of these devices consist of: Indium tin oxide (ITO), used as a transparent anode; amorphous carbon film as an emission layer, and aluminum as a cathode. The thickness of the carbon films was about 250 Å. In all of the produced diodes, a stable visible emission peaked around 475 nm is observed at room temperature and the emission intensity increases with the current density. For an applied voltage of 14 V, the luminance was about 3 mCd/m2. The electroluminescent properties of the two devices are discussed and compared.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.