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Engineering topics

Zhu, Liping

Publications and source records attributed to Zhu, Liping.

Light extraction in tandem organic light emitting diodes

Since the invention of organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), great research efforts have been dedicated to improving their efficiency and lifetime. For high-brightness applications, tandem OLED structures have advantages because of the lower current densities required to achieve high brightness. With the successful development of highly efficient charge generation layers, high brightness tandem OLEDs are used in displays and lighting. However, the major challenge for tandem OLEDs is the low light extraction efficiency, because about 50% of the light is trapped inside the device as waveguide modes. In this Perspective, we first review the recent works done on light extraction, analyze different waveguide mode extraction structures, and then identify the key factors determining the extraction efficiencies in tandem OLEDs.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Warming homogenizes apparent temperature sensitivity of ecosystem respiration

Warming-induced carbon loss through terrestrial ecosystem respiration (Re) is likely getting stronger in high latitudes and cold regions because of the more rapid warming and higher temperature sensitivity of Re (Q 10 ). However, it is not known whether the spatial relationship between Q 10 and temperature also holds temporally under a future warmer climate. Here, we analyzed apparent Q 10 values derived from multiyear observations at 74 FLUXNET sites spanning diverse climates and biomes. We found warming-induced decline in Q 10 is stronger at colder regions than other locations, which is consistent with a meta-analysis of 54 field warming experiments across the globe. We predict future warming will shrink the global variability of Q 10 values to an average of 1.44 across the globe under a high emission trajectory (RCP 8.5) by the end of the century. Therefore, warming-induced carbon loss may be less than previously assumed because of Q 10 homogenization in a warming world.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Recovering cavity effects in corrugated organic light emitting diodes

Cavity effects play an important role in determining the out-coupling efficiency of an OLED. By fabricating OLEDs on corrugated substrates, the waveguide and SPP modes can be extracted by diffraction. However, corrugation does not always lead to an enhancement in out-coupling efficiency due to the reduction of the electrode reflectance and hence the cavity effects. Based on the results of our rigorous couple-wave analysis (RCWA) simulation, we found that the cavity effects can be partially recovered using a low index Teflon layer inserted between the ITO anode and the substrate due to the enhancement of the reflectance of the corrugated electrodes. To verify the simulation results, we fabricated corrugated OLEDs having a low-index Teflon interlayer with an EQE of 36%, which is 29% higher than an optimized planar OLED. By experimentally measuring the OLED air mode dispersion, we confirm the cavity emission of a corrugated OLED is enhanced by the low index layer.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Efficient Energy Funneling in Quasi‐2D Perovskites: From Light Emission to Lasing

Abstract Quasi‐2D Ruddlesden–Popper halide perovskites with a large exciton binding energy, self‐assembled quantum wells, and high quantum yield draw attention for optoelectronic device applications. Thin films of these quasi‐2D perovskites consist of a mixture of domains having different dimensionality, allowing energy funneling from lower‐dimensional nanosheets (high‐bandgap domains) to 3D nanocrystals (low‐bandgap domains). High‐quality quasi‐2D perovskite (PEA) 2 (FA) 3 Pb 4 Br 13 films are fabricated by solution engineering. Grazing‐incidence wide‐angle X‐ray scattering measurements are conducted to study the crystal orientation, and transient absorption spectroscopy measurements are conducted to study the charge‐carrier dynamics. These data show that highly oriented 2D crystal films have a faster energy transfer from the high‐bandgap domains to the low‐bandgap domains (<0.5 ps) compared to the randomly oriented films. High‐performance light‐emitting diodes can be realized with these highly oriented 2D films. Finally, amplified spontaneous emission with a low threshold 4.16 µJ cm −2 is achieved and distributed feedback lasers are also demonstrated. These results show that it is important to control the morphology of the quasi‐2D films to achieve efficient energy transfer, which is a critical requirement for light‐emitting devices.

Lei, Lei↗