Breath figure pattern formation as a means to fabricate micro-structured organic light-emitting diodes

Abstract

We demonstrate a procedure for fabricating micro-structured organic light-emitting diodes (micro-LEDs) based on so-called breath figure (BF) pattern formation. In the latter process water vapour is condensed on the surface of a spread polymer solution to form droplets that close pack into ordered arrays and that transfer the BF pattern into the resulting solid thin polymer film. Here, we generate a silicone elastomer negative replica of the BF pattern and use it as a master for solvent-assisted micro-moulding of an insulating polymer layer deposited on top of a PEDOT:PSS covered indium tin oxide (ITO)-coated glass substrate. By spin coating a light-emitting polymer blend film on top of the micro-structured insulator, we obtain micro-structured polymer LEDs with dimensions defined by the BF pattern.

Breath Figure: A Nature-Inspired Preparation Method for Ordered Porous Films

“…They added an insulating layer of polyimide between the active layer and the metal layer. 491 By patterning the PI layer with a PDMS stamp, a dot-array OLED was also obtained, which had current and power efficiencies twice as high as those for nonpatterned OLEDs.…”

Breath Figure Arrays: Unconventional Fabrications, Functionalizations, and Applications

“…Bradley et al. tried a different way of producing a patterned hole transport layer (HTL) using a MLA‐like PDMS stamp 65. The continuous active layer and other layers were then deposited onto the patterned HTL.…”

Droplet condensation on polymer surfaces: A review

“…Due to the current and power efficiency being higher than those of non-patterned devices, the procedure introduced in this paper has significant potential for organic device fabrication without the requirement of a complicated subtractive patterning process. 217 Zhao et al reported the synthesis of honeycomb ordered polycarbonate films in chloroform, dichloromethane, and tetrahydrofuran. Pore sizes increased with RH and decreased with an increase in polymer concentration.…”