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Surface modification and characterization of indium–tin oxide for organic light-emitting devices

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Abstract

We used various treatment methods such as ethanol treatment, sodium hydroxide solution treatment, sulfur acid treatment, and oxygen plasma treatment to modify the surface of indium–tin oxide (ITO) substrates for organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs). The surface properties of the treated ITO substrates were characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), contact angle, surface energy measurements, four-point probe, X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometer. The results showed that the ITO surface properties were closely related to the treatment methods, and the oxygen plasma is more efficient than other treatments as it leads to smoother surface, better surface stoichiometry, higher work function and surface energy, lower sheet resistance, and higher transmission of the ITO substrates. Moreover, small molecular organic light-emitting devices (SMOLEDs) using different treated ITO substrates as anodes were fabricated and investigated. It was found that surface treatment of ITO substrates has influence upon the injection current, the turn-on voltages of light emission, luminance, efficiency and lifetime. Oxygen plasma treatment on the ITO substrate yields the highest performance of SMOLEDs due to the improvement of interface formation and electrical contact of the ITO substrate with the small molecular material blend in the SMOLEDs.

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Acknowledgement

This work was partially supported by the National Science Foundation of China (NSFC) through Grant No. 60425101, Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University through Grant No. NCET-06-0812 and the Young Talent Project of UESTC via Grant No.060206.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Electronic Thin Films and Integrated Devices, School of Optoelectronic Information, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC), Chengdu, 610054, P.R. China

    L. Li, J. S. Yu, S. L. Lou, W. Z. Li, Y. D. Jiang & W. Li

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  1. L. Li
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  2. J. S. Yu
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  3. S. L. Lou
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  4. W. Z. Li
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  5. Y. D. Jiang
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  6. W. Li
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Correspondence to J. S. Yu or Y. D. Jiang.

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Li, L., Yu, J.S., Lou, S.L. et al. Surface modification and characterization of indium–tin oxide for organic light-emitting devices. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 19, 1214–1221 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-007-9545-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-007-9545-5

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