This tutorial will introduce the fundamentals of OLED design, fabrication, and characterization for display applications. It will provide a brief introduction to the relevant physics of organic semiconductors, examine the ultimate performance limit of OLEDs, and then progress to the different types of architectures and emitters used in state-of-the-art devices. Methods of deposition and patterning relevant for displays will be covered along with the various metrics used to assess OLED efficiency and color quality. The course will conclude with an overview of tactics for improved light outcoupling as well as a discussion of the factors that limit OLED operational lifetime.
Stephen R. Forrest has received numerous awards and medals for his invention of phosphorescent OLEDs, innovations in organic LEDs and organic thin films, and advances in photodetectors for optical communications. Forrest received a BA in physics from the University of California, and MSc and PhD degrees in physics from the University of Michigan. In 1985, he joined USC and, in 1992, moved to Princeton University. In 2006, he rejoined the University of Michigan as vice president for research, and is now the university’s Peter A. Franken Distinguished University Professor of Engineering. He is also a Fellow of the APS, IEEE, and OSA and a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the National Academy of Inventors. He has authored ~650 papers in refereed journals and has 375 US patents, many of which are also granted worldwide. Forrest is co-founder or founding participant in several companies, including Sensors Unlimited, Epitaxx, Inc., NanoFlex Power Corp., Universal Display Corp., and Apogee Photonics, Inc., and is on the Growth Technology Advisory Board of Applied Materials. He is past chairman of the board of the University Musical Society and served as chairman of the board for Ann Arbor SPARK. He has served on the Board of Governors of the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, where he is a distinguished visiting professor of electrical engineering. He received an honorary doctorate from the Technion in 2018, the Henry Russel Lectureship at the University of Michigan in 2019, and, most recently, the IEEE Electron Devices Society William R. Cherry Award in 2022. His first book, Organic Electronics: Foundations to Applications, was published in September 2020.
Chris Giebink is a professor of electrical engineering at University of Michigan. He received his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Princeton University and holds undergraduate degrees in both physics and engineering science from Trinity University (TX). His research focuses broadly on optoelectronic and photonic devices based on organic materials, with applications in solar energy conversion, solid-state lighting, lasers, and nonlinear optics. He holds 11 patents and is a senior member of the IEEE, OSA, SPIE, and National Academy of Inventors as well as a recipient of the DARPA YFA, AFOSR YIP, and NSF CAREER awards.
Moderators: Chris Giebink and Stephen R. Forrest