Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs) are widely viewed as next generation platform for flat panel displays and solid state lighting. Currently, OLED efficiency is not high due to high driving voltage. Molybdenum trioxide (MoO3) is ideal for p-type doping of the wide bandgap organic semiconductor 4,4’-bis-9-carbozyl biphenyl (CBP). With p-type doped CBP layer as Hole Transport Layer (HTL), driving voltage can be significantly reduced. Effective design for doped OLED structure consists of a HTL with doped layer from 20nm to 40nm and MoO3 concentration above 5%, the optimized OLED with doped CBP HTL present an 18% improvement over a standard device with CBP HTL at 100mA/cm2. Injection is found to be the principle cause of the reduction of driving voltage and shows close relations to doped layer thickness. Also charge balance is an important factor for high current efficiency, doped layer can be used as tools to promote charge balance.

Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs) are widely viewed as next generation platform for flat panel displays and solid state lighting. Currently, OLED efficiency is not high due to high driving voltage. Molybdenum trioxide (MoO3) is ideal for p-type doping of the wide bandgap organic semiconductor 4,4’-bis-9-carbozyl biphenyl (CBP). With p-type doped CBP layer as Hole Transport Layer (HTL), driving voltage can be significantly reduced. Effective design for doped OLED structure consists of a HTL with doped layer from 20nm to 40nm and MoO3 concentration above 5%, the optimized OLED with doped CBP HTL present an 18% improvement over a standard device with CBP HTL at 100mA/cm2. Injection is found to be the principle cause of the reduction of driving voltage and shows close relations to doped layer thickness. Also charge balance is an important factor for high current efficiency, doped layer can be used as tools to promote charge balance.

Widespread use of organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) in solid state lighting and display technologies require efficiency and lifetime improvements, as well as cost reductions, inclusive of the transparent conducting oxide (TCO). Indium tin oxide (ITO) is the standard TCO anode in OLEDs, but indium is expensive and the Earth's reserve of this element is limited. Zinc oxide (ZnO) and its variants such as aluminum-doped ZnO (AZO) exhibit comparable electrical conductivity and transmissivity to ITO, and are of interest for TCO applications. However, the workfunction of ZnO and AZO is smaller compared to ITO. The smaller workfunction of AZO results in a higher hole injection barrier at the anode/organic interface, and methods of tuning its workfunction are required. This dissertation tested the hypothesis that workfunction tuning of AZO films could be achieved by surface modification with electronegative oxygen and fluorine plasmas, or, via use of nanoscale transition metal oxide layers (MoOx, VOx and WOx). Extensive UPS, XPS and optical spectroscopy studies indicate that O2 and CFx plasma treatment results in an electronegative surface, surface charge redistribution, and a surface dipole moment which reinforces the original surface dipole leading to workfunction increases. Donor-like gap states associated with partially occupied d-bands due to non-stoichiometry determine the effective increased workfunction of the AZO/transition-metal oxide stacks. Reduced hole injection barriers were engineered by ensuring that the surface ad-layers were sufficiently thin to facilitate Fowler-Nordheim tunneling. Improved band alignments resulted in improved hole injection from the surface modified AZO anodes, as demonstrated by I-V characterization of hole only structures. Energy band alignments are proposed based on the aforementioned spectroscopies. Simple bilayer OLEDs employing the surface modified AZO anodes were fabricated and characterized to compare their performance with standard ITO. Anodes consisting of AZO with MoOx or VOx interfacial layers exhibited 50% and 71% improvement in power efficiency (PE) and external quantum efficiency (EQE), respectively, compared to ITO at a working voltage of 9 V. The efficiencies of dipole reinforced AZO (O2/CFx plasma treated) anodes were comparable to ITO. The improved performance of the surface modified AZO anodes compared to as-deposited AZO is ascribed to improved hole injection, improved charge balance, and improved radiative recombination kinetics. The results suggest that surface modified AZO anodes are a promising alternative to ITO, given the lower cost and Earth abundance of Al and Zn.

In dieser Arbeit werden Fragestellungen aus dem Gebiet der Organischen Elektronik behandelt, hauptsächlich Grenzflächen zwischen Metallen und konjugierten organischen Molekülen (KOM). Im einzelnen wird behandelt: (i) der Einfluss der Orientierung von Molekülen auf die Energieniveaus, (ii) das gezielte Einstellen von Energieniveaus mithilfe starker Elektronenakzeptoren, (iii) die Rolle des thermodynamischen Gleichgewichts an organisch-organischen Grenzflächen und (iv) der Zusammenhang zwischen elektronischer Struktur an Grenzflächen und dem Bindungsabstand. Es wurden hauptsächlich Messungen mit ultravioletter Photoelektronenspektroskopie, unterstützt von Röntgenphotoelektronenspektroskopie, Spektroskopie mit metastabilen Atomen, Röntgenbeugung und stehenden Röntgenwellen, an vakuumsublimierten organischen dünnen Schichten im Ultrahochvakuum durchgeführt. (i) Eine neue Erklärung für das Phänomen der orientierungsabhängigen Ionisationsenergie in molekularen Verbünden wird gegeben. Dabei kommt es zu einem Einfluss intramolekularer Dipole auf die Ionisationsenergie. (ii) Es wurde eine neue Methode gefunden, um die Lochinjektionsbarriere (HIB) an organisch/metallischen Grenzflächen zu kontrollieren. Dazu wurden (Sub-)Monolagen starker Elektronenakzeptoren auf Metalloberflächen adsorbiert. Dabei kommt es zu einem Ladungstransfer, der die HIB eines darauf aufgedampften KOMs verringern kann. Das Konzept wurde mit drei Akzeptoren getestet und die HIB konnte um bis zu 1,2 eV verringert werden. (iii) Ein akzeptorvorbedeckungsabhängiger Übergang von Vakuumniveauangleichung zu einem „Pinning“ molekularer Niveaus an Homogrenzflächen eines KOMs mit liegender Mono- und stehender Multilage konnte beobachtet werden - ein direkter Beweis für einen thermodynamisch getriebenen Ladungstransfer. (iv) Ein klarer Zusammenhang zwischen der Stärke der chemischen Bindung und dem Bindungsabstand von KOM zu Metallsubstraten konnte gezeigt werden. / This work addresses several topics of the field of organic electronics, the focus lies on organic/metal interfaces. Four main topics have been covered: (i) the impact of molecular orientation on the energy levels, (ii) energy level tuning with strong electron acceptors, (iii) the role of thermodynamic equilibrium at organic/organic homo-interfaces and (iv) the correlation of interfacial electronic structure and bonding distance. To address these issues mainly ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy was used, supported by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, metastable atom electron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and X-ray standing waves, to examine vacuum sublimed thin films of conjugated organic molecules (COMs) in ultrahigh vacuum. (i) A novel approach is presented to explain the phenomenon that the ionization energy in molecular assemblies is orientation dependent. It is demonstrated that this is due to an impact of intramolecular dipoles on the ionization energy in molecular assemblies. Furthermore, the correlation of molecular orientation and conformation has been studied in detail for COMs on various substrates. (ii) A new approach was developed to tune hole injection barriers (HIB) at organic/metal interfaces by adsorbing a (sub-) monolayer of an organic electron acceptor on the metal electrode. Charge transfer from the metal to the acceptor leads to a chemisorbed layer, which reduces the HIB to the COM overlayer. With this concept a lowering of the HIB of up to 1.2 eV could be observed. (iii) A transition from vacuum-level alignment to molecular level pinning at the homo-interface between a lying monolayer and standing multilayers of a COM was observed, which depended on the amount of a pre-deposited acceptor. (iv) A clear correlation between the strength of chemical bonding of COMs and the bonding distance to metal substrates could be shown.

Ce travail porte dans un premier temps sur l’optimisation du matériau constituant la couche d’injection des trous dans les diodes électroluminescentes organiques (OLEDs) et les cellules solaires organiques (OPVCs). Les Polyanilines (PANIs) utilisées dans ce travail sont dispersées dans différents solvants organiques ou dans l'eau. L’effet de l’épaisseur, de la morphologie et de la conductivité des films de PANI sur l’efficacité des cellules solaires a été étudié. Les résultats montrent que la conductivité et l’épaisseur des films de PANI affectent énormément l’efficacité des dispositifs OLEDs ou OPVCs. Le dopant et le solvant utilisés dans la synthèse de la dispersion de PANI jouent aussi un rôle important. Dans un second temps, différentes PANIs ainsi que des latex de PEDOT et des nanotubes de carbone ont été utilisés seuls en tant qu'électrode dans le but d'accéder à des dispositifs "tout polymère". L’influence du pH, de la conductivité, du travail de sortie, la nature du dopant et du solvant sur les propriétés de l’injection de charge ont été analysés. / The optimization of hole injection materials in organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) and organic photovoltaic cells (OPVCs) is reported. Water and organic solvent-based PANIs were used. We have studied the influence of the thickness, the morphology and the conductivity of PANI films in (OPVCs) performances. The results show that the conductivity and the thickness of the PANI film greatly affect (OLED) and (OPVCs) effectiveness. The dopant and the solvent used in the synthesis of PANI dispersion also play an important role. PANI and PEDOT dispersions as well as carbon nanotube were also used as electrodes without ITO. The effect of pH, conductivity, the work function, the nature of the dopant and the solvent in the injection property were analyzed.

In this work, well-defined and stable thin films based on polythiophene and its derivative, are employed as the hole-injection contact of organic light-emitting diodes (OLED). The polymer films are obtained by the electropolymerization or the electrochemical doping/dedoping of a spin-coated layer. Their electrical properties and energetics are tailored by electrochemical adjustment of their doping levels in order to improve the hole-injection from the anode as well as the performance of small molecular OLEDs. By using dimeric thiophene and optimizing the electrodeposition parameters, a thin polybithiophene (PbT) layer is fabricated with well-defined morphology and a high degree of smoothness by electro-polymerization. The introduction of the semiconducting PbT contact layer improves remarkably the hole injection between ITO anode and the hole- transport layer (NPB) due to its favourable energetic feature (HOMO level of 5.1 eV). The vapor-deposited NPB/Alq3 bilayer OLEDs with a thin PbT interlayer, show a remarkable reduction of the operating voltage as well as enhanced luminous efficiency compared to the devices without PbT. Investigations have also been made on the influence of PbT thickness on the efficiency and I-V feature as well as device stability of the OLED. It is demonstrated that the use of an electropolymerization step into the production of vapor deposited molecular OLED is a viable approach to obtain high performance OLEDs. The study on the PbT has been extended to poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDT) and the highly homogenous poly(styrenesulfonate) (PSS) doped PEDT layer from a spin-coating process has been applied. The doping level of PEDT:PSS was adjusted quantitatively by an electrochemical doping/dedoping process using a p-tuoluenesulfonic acid containing solution, and the redox mechanism was elucidated. The higher oxidation state can remain stable in the dry state. The work function of PEDT:PSS increases with the doping level after adjusting at an electrode potential higher than the value of the electrochemical equilibrium potential (Eeq) of an untreated film. This leads to a further reduction of the hole-injection barrier at the contact of the polymeric anode/hole transport layer and an ideal ohmic behavoir is almost achieved at the anode/NPB interface for a PEDT:PSS anode with very high doping level. Molecular Alq3-based OLEDs were fabricated using the electrochemically treated PEDT:PSS/ITO anode, and the device performance is shown to depend on the doping level of polymeric anode. The devices on the polymer anode with a higher Eeq than that for the unmodified anode, show a reduction of operating voltage as well as a remarkable enhancement of the luminance. Furthermore, it is found that the operating stability of such devices is also improved remarkably. This originates from the removal of mobile ions such as sodium ions inside the PEDT:PSS by electrochemical treatment as well as the planarization of the ITO surface by the polymer film. By utilizing an Al/LiF cathode with an enhanced electron injection and together with a high Eeq- anode, a balanced injection and recombination of hole and electron is achieved. It leads to a further reduction of the operating voltage and to a drastic improvement of EL efficiency of the device as high as 5.0 cd/A. The results demonstrate unambiguously that the electrochemical treatment of a cast polymer anode is an effective method to improve and optimize the performance of OLEDs. The method can be extended to other polythiophene systems and other conjugated polymers in the fabrication of the OLEDs as well as organic transistors and solar cells.

Ces travaux se sont consacrés à l’étude de l’intégration du silicium poreux au procédé de fabrication des TRIACs. Ce matériau a pour but d’optimiser les structures actuelles du point de vue de leur périphérie. Son utilisation en tant que terminaison de jonction pourrait ouvrir la voie à une diminution de la taille des puces et donc augmenter la quantité de puces par wafer. Le silicium poreux est intégré aux périphéries des TRIACs par gravure électrochimique dans du silicium faiblement dopé n (30−40 Ω.cm). Pour assurer le bon déroulement de la réaction et ce dans un cadre industriel, la technique d’injection de trous depuis une jonction p+/n est étudiée. L’influence des paramètres d’anodisation dans ces conditions est analysée. Une double couche composée de silicium macroporeux rempli de silicium mésoporeux et surmonté d’une couche de nucléation a été obtenue. Le silicium poreux est localisé dans la périphérie des TRIACs. Des mesures de tenue en tension d’une jonction p/n présentant cette terminaison à base de silicium poreux ont été évaluées et ont montrées des tenues en tension dix fois supérieures à la même structure sans silicium poreux. Toutefois, des perspectives d’amélioration sont proposées car ces résultats restent insuffisants. / The integration of porous silicon to TRIACs process is studied. The aim of this material is to optimize current structures dedicated to electrical insulation of those components namely the periphery. The use of porous silicon as junction termination could allow the increase of the number of die per wafer. Porous silicon is integrated to TRIAC peripheries by electrochemical etching in low doped n type silicon (30−40 Ω.cm). Hole injection from a p+/n junction is studied to determine the performance of the reaction as part of an industrial microelectronic process. The reaction parameters are studied in those conditions. A double layer consisting in a macroporous layer fully filled with mesoporous silicon and surmounted by a nucleation layer, is obtained. Porous silicon formation is limited to TRIAC peripheries. Voltage withstand of a p/n junction with porous silicon termination shows values ten times higher than the same structure without this insulator. Nevertheless, prospects of improvement are suggested because those results are insufficient.

In this work, well-defined and stable thin films based on polythiophene and its derivative, are employed as the hole-injection contact of organic light-emitting diodes (OLED). The polymer films are obtained by the electropolymerization or the electrochemical doping/dedoping of a spin-coated layer. Their electrical properties and energetics are tailored by electrochemical adjustment of their doping levels in order to improve the hole-injection from the anode as well as the performance of small molecular OLEDs. By using dimeric thiophene and optimizing the electrodeposition parameters, a thin polybithiophene (PbT) layer is fabricated with well-defined morphology and a high degree of smoothness by electro-polymerization. The introduction of the semiconducting PbT contact layer improves remarkably the hole injection between ITO anode and the hole- transport layer (NPB) due to its favourable energetic feature (HOMO level of 5.1 eV). The vapor-deposited NPB/Alq3 bilayer OLEDs with a thin PbT interlayer, show a remarkable reduction of the operating voltage as well as enhanced luminous efficiency compared to the devices without PbT. Investigations have also been made on the influence of PbT thickness on the efficiency and I-V feature as well as device stability of the OLED. It is demonstrated that the use of an electropolymerization step into the production of vapor deposited molecular OLED is a viable approach to obtain high performance OLEDs. The study on the PbT has been extended to poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDT) and the highly homogenous poly(styrenesulfonate) (PSS) doped PEDT layer from a spin-coating process has been applied. The doping level of PEDT:PSS was adjusted quantitatively by an electrochemical doping/dedoping process using a p-tuoluenesulfonic acid containing solution, and the redox mechanism was elucidated. The higher oxidation state can remain stable in the dry state. The work function of PEDT:PSS increases with the doping level after adjusting at an electrode potential higher than the value of the electrochemical equilibrium potential (Eeq) of an untreated film. This leads to a further reduction of the hole-injection barrier at the contact of the polymeric anode/hole transport layer and an ideal ohmic behavoir is almost achieved at the anode/NPB interface for a PEDT:PSS anode with very high doping level. Molecular Alq3-based OLEDs were fabricated using the electrochemically treated PEDT:PSS/ITO anode, and the device performance is shown to depend on the doping level of polymeric anode. The devices on the polymer anode with a higher Eeq than that for the unmodified anode, show a reduction of operating voltage as well as a remarkable enhancement of the luminance. Furthermore, it is found that the operating stability of such devices is also improved remarkably. This originates from the removal of mobile ions such as sodium ions inside the PEDT:PSS by electrochemical treatment as well as the planarization of the ITO surface by the polymer film. By utilizing an Al/LiF cathode with an enhanced electron injection and together with a high Eeq- anode, a balanced injection and recombination of hole and electron is achieved. It leads to a further reduction of the operating voltage and to a drastic improvement of EL efficiency of the device as high as 5.0 cd/A. The results demonstrate unambiguously that the electrochemical treatment of a cast polymer anode is an effective method to improve and optimize the performance of OLEDs. The method can be extended to other polythiophene systems and other conjugated polymers in the fabrication of the OLEDs as well as organic transistors and solar cells.