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Effects of double heat treatment of NiO hole transport layer on the performance of QLEDs

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Abstract

Parameters affecting the performance of QLED devices using NiO hole transport layer (HTL) thin film via the sol–gel process route were investigated. In the preparation of the NiO HTL thin film, a double heat treatment scheme, crystallization heat treatment at elevated temperatures followed by vacuum annealing treatment at lower temperatures, was introduced to form a crystalline NiO single phase as well as surface phases with reduced defect concentration. The decoupling of crystallization and vacuum annealing treatment of NiO HTL thin film was effective in enhancing the performance of the QLEDs. Also, the insertion of an interlayer between QD EML and NiO HTL was very effective in enhancing the performance of the device. With the modification of processing conditions, the luminance of QLED with the NiO HTL was improved from 30 to 11500 cd/m2 and the current efficiency from 0.25 to 23 cd/A, respectively.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning (MSIP) (No. 2017R1A2B3008628) and Basic Science Research Program through the NRF funded by Ministry of Education (No. 2015R1A6A1A03031833).

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  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Hongik University, Seoul, Korea

    Sun-Kyo Kim, Heesun Yang & Yong-Seog Kim

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  1. Sun-Kyo Kim
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  2. Heesun Yang
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Correspondence to Yong-Seog Kim.

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Kim, SK., Yang, H. & Kim, YS. Effects of double heat treatment of NiO hole transport layer on the performance of QLEDs. J Mater Sci 55, 17046–17060 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-020-05223-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-020-05223-z