Hydrogenated In-doped ZnO thin films for the new anode material of organic light emitting devices: Synthesis and application test

Abstract

Transparent In-doped (1 at.%) zinc oxide (IZO) thin films are deposited by pulsed DC magnetron sputtering with H2 mixed Ar atmosphere on glass substrate without any heating process. Even at room temperature, highly c-axis oriented IZO thin films were grown in perpendicular to the substrate. The hydrogenated IZO (IZO:H) film isolated in H2 atmosphere for 30 min exhibited an average optical transmittance higher than 85% and low electrical resistivity of less than 2.7 × 10-3 Ω·cm. These values are comparable with those of commercially available ITO. Each of the IZO films was used as an anode contact to fabricate organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) and the device performances studied. At the current density of 1 × 103 A/m2, the OLEDs with IZO:H (H2) anode show excellent efficiency (11 V drive voltage) and a good brightness (8000 cd/m 2) of the light emitted from the devices, which are as good as the control device built on a commercial ITO anode.