1. A method for forming a light-emitting device, the method comprising: providing a substrate having a first refractive index; coupling a transparent electrode to an organic layer, the transparent electrode having a second refractive index different from the first refractive index; selecting an undercoat layer having a third refractive index to substantially match the first refractive index to the second refractive index; and providing the undercoat layer between the substrate and the transparent electrode.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the organic layer emits light through the transparent electrode, and the step of selecting the undercoat includes minimizing a reflection of the emitted light at an interface between the transparent electrode and the substrate.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the step of selecting the undercoat includes increasing an amount of light transmitted from the transparent electrode to the substrate.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein the step of selecting the undercoat includes decreasing the resistivity of the transparent electrode.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of selecting an undercoat layer includes selecting a number of sub-layers to produce the third refractive index, wherein the undercoat layer provided between the substrate and the transparent electrode includes the number of selected sub-layers.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of selecting the undercoat layer includes selecting the undercoat layer to reduce an iridescence of the transparent electrode. 13

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of selecting the undercoat layer includes selecting the undercoat layer to reduce a sodium ion migration from the substrate to the transparent electrode.

8. A light-emitting device comprising: a substrate having a first refractive index; a transparent electrode coupled to an organic layer and disposed between the organic layer and the substrate, the transparent electrode having a second refractive index different from the first refractive index; and an undercoat layer disposed between the substrate and the transparent electrode, the undercoat layer having a third refractive index, wherein the undercoat layer is formed with the third refractive index such that the first refractive index is substantially matched to the second refi-active index.

9. The light-emitting device according to claim 8, wherein the undercoat layer includes one or more sub-layers selected to form the third refi-active index.

10. The light-emitting device according to claim 9, wherein the one or more sub-layers is formed using a same material.

11. The light-emitting device according to claim 8, wherein a material of the undercoat layer comprises at least one of silicon oxide, tin oxide, titanium oxide, aluminiun oxide or zinc oxide.

12. The light-emitting device according to claim 8, wherein the substrate is formed from a transparent material.

13. The light-emitting device according to claim 12, wherein the material of the substrate comprises soda lime glass or borosilicate glass.

14. The light-emitting device according to claim 8, wherein a material of the transparent electrode comprises doped zinc oxide, indium tin oxide 14 (ITO), indium zinc oxide (IZO), F-doped tin oxide or niobium-doped titanium dioxide.

15. The light-emitting device according to claim 8, further comprising a metal electrode disposed on the organic layer.

16. The light-emitting device according to claim 8, wherein the light-emitting device includes an organic light emitting diode (OLED).

17. A method for fabricating a light-emitting device, the method comprising: forming an undercoat layer on a substrate by a first chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process; forming a transparent electrode on the undercoat layer by a second chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process; and forming an organic layer on the transparent electrode, wherein the substrate has a first refractive index and the transparent electrode has a second refractive index different from the first refractive index, and the undercoat layer is formed to have a third refractive index such that the first refractive index is substantially matched to the second refractive index.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein the step of forming the undercoat layer includes forming one or more sub-layers by the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process to form the third refractive index.

19. The method according to claim 17, wherein the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process is performed at a temperature of 300° C to 650° C.

20. The method according to claim 17, wherein the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process is performed at atmospheric pressure.

21. The method according to claim 17, further ipcluding forming a metal electrode on the organic layer.

OLED SUBSTRATE CONSISTING OF TRANSPARENT CONDUCTIVE
OXIDE (TCO) AND ANTI-IRIDESCENT UNDERCOAT
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates generally to light-emitting devices and, more
particularly, to organic light emitting devices (OLEDs) and methods of forming
OLEDs that include providing an undercoat layer between a substrate and a
transparent conductive electrode (TCO) to reduce reflection of the glass and TCO
interface and improve conductivity of the TCO layer.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Light emitting diodes (LEDs) are known and are used in many applications,
such as in displays and status indicators. LEDs may be formed from organic and/or
inorganic materials. Inorganic LEDs include an inorganic light emitting material for a
light emitting layer, typically an inorganic semiconductor material such as gallium
arsenide. Organic LEDs (OLEDs) typically include an organic polymer material for
the light emitting layer. Inorganic LEDs may provide bright and durable point light
sources, whereas OLEDs may provide large area surface emitting light sources.
[0003] Organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) have a potential for providing an
inexpensive alternative to light emitting diodes (LEDs). OLEDs generally include
thin organic layers, either polymers or small molecules, sandwiched between a pair of
electrodes. Typically, at least one of the electrodes is transparent to the emitted light.
Light emission out of the device, however, may be reduced due to internal reflection
of light within the various layers of the OLED device. This effect is known as
waveguiding. Fig. la shows the schematic diagram of the propagation of emitted
light inside an OLED device. The refractive indexes for the hole transport layer
(HTL) and Electro-luminescent (EL) layers comprising the device are also presented
in this figure. The total amount of light lost in this structure of 80 % comprises the
substrate waveguide mode loss (30 %) and TCO/organic waveguide mode loss (50
%). This loss phenomenon is associated with total internal reflectance (TIR) occurring
at the air/glass and the glass/TCO interfaces. Under these conditions the angle of
refraction (0) is greater than that of the incidence. On increasing the incident angle
1
further, the refractive ray grazes the substrate and this angle is called critical angle
(0c) (Fig. la).
[0004] To improve light outcoupling out of the OLED structure several approaches
have been proposed in the literature. For example, a utilization of micro-lenses on the
backside of the glass substrate surface was shown to improve light outcoupling (J.
Lim et al., Opt. Exp. 14 (2006) 6564). The formation of a mono-layer of silica microspheres
(K. Neyts, et al, J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 23 (2006) 1201), the use of high
refractive index substrate, low refractive index silica-aerogel and MgFi antireflection
coatings was shown to improve light outcoupling (K. Saxena et al., J. Lum. 128
(2008) 525).
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] The present invention is embodied in a method for forming a light-emitting
device. The method provides a substrate having a first refractive index. The method
also couples a transparent electrode to an organic layer, where the transparent
electrode has a second refractive index different from the first refi-active index. The
method further selects an undercoat layer having a third refractive index to
substantially match the first refractive index to the second refractive index.
[0006] The present invention is also embodied in a light-emitting device. The
light-emitting device includes a substrate having a first refractive index. The lightemitting
device also includes a transparent electrode coupled to an organic layer and
disposed between the organic layer and the substrate. The transparent electrode has a
second refractive index that is different from the first refractive index. The lightemitting
device also includes an undercoat layer disposed between the substrate and
the transparent electrode, where the undercoat layer has a third refractive index. The
undercoat layer is formed with the third refractive index such that the first refractive
index is substantially matched to the second refractive index.
[0007] The present invention is also embodied in a method for fabricating a lightemitting
device. The method forms an undercoat layer on a substrate by a chemical
vapor deposition (CVD) process, forms a transparent electrode (TCO) on the
undercoat layer by the CVD process and forms an organic layer on the transparent
electrode. The substrate has a first refractive index and the transparent electrode has a
2
second refractive index that lies between the refractive indexes of the substrate and
TCO. The undercoat layer is formed to have a third refractive index such that the first
refractive index is substantially matched to the second refractive index.
[0008] The method of the present invention reduces the glass/TCO loss mode by
incorporation of the additional layer with a refractive index in between those of the
TCO and the substrate. The refractive index and thickness of the additional layer is
carefully selected to reduce glass/TCO waveguiding mode. For effective cancellation
of the glass/TCO mode, the refractive index of the undercoat layer is (nixns)'^ ~ 1.69,
where ni and nj are the refractive indexes of glass and TCO respectively. The
thickness of the undercoat layer is d=(A,/4)/n2 ~ 63 nm where X and n2 are wavelength
of light and refractive index of the undercoat.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] The invention may be understood from the following detailed description
when read in connection with the accompanying drawings. It is emphasized that,
according to common practice, various features of the drawings may not be drawn to
scale. On the contrary, the dimensions of the various features may be arbitrarily
expanded or reduced for clarity. Moreover, in the drawing, common numerical
references are used to represent like features. Included in the drawing are the
following figures:
[0010] Figure, la is schematic diagram of an OLED structure with propagation of
the emitted light via various modes depicted.
[0011] Figure, lb is a schematic diagram of an OLED structure with an undercoat
layer structure in accordance with the present invention, with propagation of the
emitted light via various modes depicted. The opposite polarizations of the light
reflected from glass/TCO and TCO/organic interfaces is shovra with heavy arrows.
[0012] Figure 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary light-emitting device,
according to an aspect of the present invention.
[0013] Figure 3 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method for forming an
undercoat layer shown in Figure 2, according to an aspect of the present invention.
3
[0014] Figure 4 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method for fabricating a
light-emitting device, according to an aspect of the present invention.
[0015] Figure 5 is a graph of transmittance versus wavelength of AZO/borosilicate
and AZO/A1203/borosilicate samples.
[0016] Figure 6 is a graph of transmittance versus wavelength of AZO^orosilicate
and AZO/AliOs/borosilicate samples.
[0017] Figure 7 is a graph of reflectance versus wavelength of the
AZO/borosilicate and AZO/AliOs/borosilicate samples.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0018] As a general overview, aspects of the present invention relate to a lightemitting
device and methods for forming a light-emitting device. The light-emitting
device includes an organic layer that is formed between electrodes and is supported
by a transparent substrate. One of the electrodes is desirably transparent and is
formed proximate to the substrate. The substrate and transparent electrode have
different refractive indices which may reduce transmission of light (emitted by the
organic material) out of the substrate. According to aspects of the present invention,
an undercoat layer is provided between the substrate and the transparent electrode.
The undercoat layer desirably matches the refractive index of the substrate to the
refractive index of the transparent electrode. The vindercoat layer, thus, reduces the
reflection of emitted light within the light-emitting device, thereby increasing the
transmission of light out of the device.
[0019] Referring to Fig. 2, an exemplary light-emitting device 100 is shown.
Light-emitting device 100 includes organic layer 108 and is supported by transparent
substrate 102. Light-emitting device 100 also includes electrodes 106 and 110 with
organic layer 108 positioned there between. Electrode 106 is desirably transparent
(referred to herein as transparent electrode 106) and is positioned between substrate
102 and organic layer 108. Undercoat layer 104 is positioned between transparent
electrode 106 and substrate 102. Light-emitting device 100 may include OLED or
photovoltaic devices.
4
[0020] During operation of light-emitting device 100, current flows from one
electrode to the other and light is emitted from organic layer 108, for example, in a
direction towards substrate 102. Light that is not reflected by an interface between
transparent electrode 106 and substrate 102 is transmitted through substrate 102 and
out of light-emitting device 100.
[0021] Substrate 102 has a first refractive index (ni) whereas transparent electrode
106 has a second refractive index (ns) that is typically different from ni. For example,
ni is typically between about 1.45 and about 1.55 and ns is typically between about
1.80 and about 1.95. As knovm to the skilled person, because refractive indices ni, ns
may be different, a portion of light emitted by organic layer 108 may be reflected
back into transparent electrode 106, rather than transmitted into substrate 102.
Accordingly, transmission of light out of device 100 may be reduced.
[0022] For a conventional OLED (i.e. with no undercoat layer 104 present), about
50% of emitted light may be internally reflected within the organic layer and about
30% of light may be reflected at the interface between the transparent electrode and
the substrate. Accordingly, only about 20% of light is typically transmitted out of a
conventional OLED. For example, it is typically difficult for a conventional OLED
formed with indium tin oxide (ITO) as its transparent electrode to transmit blue light,
due to the absorption of ITO in the blue light region. Thus, this conventional OLED
typically uses an increased power in order to sufficiently transmit blue light out of the
OLED. If more light is transmitted out of the transparent electrode, the power
provided to the OLED may be reduced.
[0023] Undercoat layer 104 having a third refractive index (n2) may be provided
between transparent electrode 106 and substrate 102. Undercoat layer 104 desirably
substantially matches ni to n3_ in order to reduce reflection within transparent
electrode 106. In an exemplary embodiment, n2 is between about 1.60 and about
1.96. Undercoat layer 104 may be formed from an anti-reflection coating. As known
to the skilled person, an anti-reflection coating may be formed, based on ni, xij, with
refractive index of n2=(nixn3) , and a thickness of the undercoat layer 104 of
(l/4)/n2, to suppress the TCO/organic wave-guided mode over one wavelength or
over a range of wavelengths. In this case, the relative phase-shift between the wave
reflected from the glass/TCO and the TCO/organic interfaces is 180 degrees (Fig. lb).
5
Hence, the destructive interference between the two reflected waves suppresses the
TCO wave-guided mode. By providing substantially minimum reflectance, light may
be transmitted from transparent electrode 106 to substrate 102 with minimal reflection
of light within transparent electrode 106. Accordingly, light transmission out of
device 100 may be increased.
[0024] Undercoat layer 104 may be formed from one or more sub-layers, in order
to produce a material having third refractive index na. In general, undercoat layer 104
may be selected from one or more materials and a number of sub-layers dependent
upon a variety of factors, such as the material of substrate 102, the material of
transparent electrode 106, the material of organic layer 108, the desired wavelength
region for the emitted light, performance factors of device 100 and/or a desired cost.
Accordingly, a number of materials or combinations thereof, with various refractive
indices, may be formed into a number of sub-layers in order to produce undercoat
layer 104 with a refractive index (i.e., n2) that matches ni to na. Although in an
exemplary embodiment between about one to seven sub-layers is used to produce
undercoat layer 104, it is understood that any suitable number of sub-layers may be
used to produce refractive index n2. Selection of undercoat layer 104 is described
forther below with respect to Fig. 2.
[0025] A description of an undercoat layer to produce a desired refractive index nj
is described in U.S. Patent No. 5, 401,305 to Russo et al., entitled "Coating
Composition for Glass," the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference
for their teaching of undercoat materials and formation of an undercoat layer having a
specific refractive index and anti-iridescence. According to one embodiment,
undercoat layer 104 may be formed from one or more sub-layers of a combination of
tin oxide and silicon dioxide. An another embodiment, tin oxide may be replaced in
the sub-layers entirely, or in part, by oxides of other metals such as, for example,
germanium, titanium, aluminum, zirconium, zinc, indium, cadmium, hafnium,
tungsten, vanadium, chromium, molybdenum, iridium, nickel and tantalvmi. It is
understood that undercoat layer 104 may be formed from any suitable material to
produce a refractive index n2 to match ni to Uj. Examples of materials for undercoat
layer 104 include oxides, but are not limited to, silicon oxide, titanium oxide, tin
oxide, zinc oxide, aluminum oxide or any combination thereof
6
[0026] Depending upon the thickness of transparent electrode 106, various
reflected colors (i.e., wavelengths of light) may be observed via substrate 102. The
iridescence is generally due to an interference phenomenon where certain
wavelengths of light reflected from one side of a coating layer are out of phase with
light at the same wavelengths that are reflected from an opposite side of the coating
layer. This iridescence effect is generally considered to be detrimental to the
appearance of light-emitting device 100 in applications such as for a display.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, undercoat layer 104 may
be formed to reduce or eliminate any iridescence of various wavelengths of light
reflected by transparent electrode 106 in the direction of substrate 102. For example,
undercoat layer 104 may be formed with a quarter wavelength (or half wavelength)
optical thickness, where optical thickness refers to the thickness of undercoat layer
104 multiplied by its refractive index (n2), to cancel the interfering wavelengths.
Other examples of minimizing or eliminating iridescence are described in U.S. Patent
No. 5, 401,305 to Russo et al. It is understood that undercoat layer 104 may be
formed to minimize or eliminate iridescence by any suitable method.
[0027] Although organic layer 108 is illustrated as one layer, organic layer 108
may include one or more organic layers. In addition, organic layer 108 may include a
hole transport layer coupled to transparent electrode 106, a light emissive layer and an
electron injecting layer coupled to electrode 110. When an appropriate voltage is
applied to organic layer 108, the injected positive and negative charges recombine in
the emissive layer to produce light. The emissive layer may include, but is not limited
to blue, red and/or green emitting organic materials. The structure of organic layer
108 and selection of electrodes 106, 110 are desirably selected to maximize the
recombination process in the emissive layer, thus maximizing the light output from
light-emitting device 100. In general, organic layer 108 may be formed with any
suitable organic material. For example, materials for organic layer 108 may include,
but are not limited to, polymers, small molecules and oligomers.
[0028] In general, transparent electrode 106 is formed from a transparent
conducting oxide (TCO). In an exemplary embodiment, transparent electrode 106 is
formed from doped zinc oxide. Transparent electrode 106 may be formed from any
suitable transparent conducting oxide, for example, ITO, indium zinc oxide (IZO), F-
7
doped tin oxide and niobium-doped titanium dioxide. Electrode 110 may be formed
from any suitable conductive metal material, such as, but not limited to aluminum,
copper, silver, magnesium or calcium.
[0029] Substrate 102 may be formed of any suitable transparent material for
transmitting light from organic layer 108 through substrate 102 in a desired
wavelength range. Material for substrate 102 may include, but is not limited to, soda
lime glass including soda lime float glass and low-iron soda lime glass; borosilicate
glass; and flat panel glass.
[0030] Undercoat layer 104 may be formed to minimize ion migration from
substrate 102 into transparent electrode 106. For example, if substrate 102 may be
formed from soda lime glass as opposed to flat panel glass. Soda lime glass, however,
typically includes a larger concentration of sodium ions that may diffuse into
transparent electrode 106 and cause haze formation and/or holes in transparent
electrode 106 (which may result in electrical cormectivity problems). It is known that
silicon dioxide may effectively block the sodium ion migration. Accordingly, if
undercoat layer 104 includes silicon dioxide, sodium ion migration into transparent
electrode 106 may be prevented.
[0031] Undercoat layer 104 improves the electrical properties of the TCO layer
106. For example, when AZO films , such as Al203_ are deposited on amorphous
substrates (glass) the resistivity of the AZO films was found to decrease.
[0032] Referring next to Figs. 2 and 3, a flow chart illustrating an exemplary
method for forming undercoat layer 104 is shown. At step 200, substrate 102 is
provided with first refractive index ni. At step 202, transparent electrode 106 is
provided with second refractive index ns. For example, transparent electrode 106 may
be selected to be suitable for organic layer 108 and substrate 102 may be selected to
have suitable transparency in a desired wavelength range. Refractive indices ni, ns
for respective materials of substrate 102 and transparent electrode 106 are generally
well known (Fig. la-b). The refractive index of a material may also be determined by
conventional methods known to those of skill in the art.
[0033] At step 204, third refractive index na is determined such that refractive
indices ni and 0.3 may be substantially matched to each other. At step 206, one or
8
more materials (or combinations of materials), as well as a number of sub-layers for
undercoat layer 102 are selected based on na determined at step 204. Although steps
204 and 206 are illustrated as being performed sequentially, it is understood that steps
204 and 206 may be performed simultaneously. For example, the combination of
materials and sub-layers may be adjusted until n2 is determined that matches ni to ns.
[0034] Referring next to Figs. 2 and 4, a method for fabricating a light-emitting
device is shown. At step 300, undercoat layer 104 is formed on substrate 102 by a
chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process. An example of the fabrication process for
undercoat layer 104 is provided in U.S. Patent No. 5, 401,305 to Russo et al.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the CVD process is performed
at atmospheric pressure and at a temperature of less than about 400° Celsius (C), more
particularly less then about 350° C. According to another embodiment, the CVD
process may be performed at atmospheric pressure and a temperature of 300° C to
650° C. Undercoat layer 104 may be formed by the CVD process for each of a
number of sub-layers. Each sub-layer may be deposited with a suitable material and
respective thickness in order to produce the total undercoat layer 104 with third
refractive index nz. Although undercoat layer 104 is described as being formed using
a CVD process, it is understood that undercoat layer 104 may be formed on substrate
102 by any suitable process, for example, by a sputtering process or by a pulsed laser
deposition (PLD) process.
[0035] At step 302, transparent electrode 106 is formed on undercoat layer 104,
also by a CVD process. Although in one embodiment, the CVD process for
transparent electrode 106 is performed at atmospheric pressure and at a temperature of
about 400° C, the CVD process for transparent electrode 106 may be performed at a
temperature of 300° C to 650° C. It is contemplated that depositing transparent
electrode 106 using the CVD process, as compared to a sputtering process, may
reduce a surface roughness of transparent electrode 106. For example, organic layer
108 may be very thin, for example, about 10 nm thick. If transparent electrode 106
includes a rough surface, one or more portions of organic layer 108 may be too thin to
provide suitable charge mobility, thus shorting device 100 between electrodes 106,
110.
9
[0036] At step 304, organic layer 108 is formed on transparent electrode 106.
Organic layer 108 may be formed, by any suitable process, by depositing a hole
transport layer on transparent electrode 106, a light emissive layer on the hole
transport layer and an electron injecting layer on the light emitting layer. As one
example, organic layer 108 may be formed by a vacuum evaporation process. At step
306, metal electrode 110 is formed on organic layer 108, for example, on the electron
injecting layer of organic layer 108. Metal electrode 110 may be formed by any
suitable process, for example, by a vacuum evaporation process or by a sputtering
process.
EXAMPLES
[0037] Example 1.
A gas mixture of 1.2 mol % of ZnMe2-MeTHF in 11 sLpm of nitrogen carrier gas was
fed into a primary feed tube at 160°C. A dopant was introduced into the primary feed
tube from a stainless steel bubbler. The bubbler contained AlMe2acac dopant at 66°C.
Al-precursor was picked up by nitrogen, preheated to 70°C, with a flow rate of 310
seem. Oxidants were introduced into a secondary feed tube through two stainless steal
bubblers. The first and second bubblers contained H2O and 2-propanol at 60 and 65
°C, respectively. H2O was picked up by nitrogen, preheated to 65 °C, with the flow
rate of 400 seem. 2-Propanol was picked up by nitrogen, preheated to 70 °C, with the
flow rate of 600 seem. The secondary feeds were co-fed with the primary flow inside
a mixing chamber. The mixing chamber was 1 % inch in length, corresponding to a
mixing time of 250 msec between the primary and secondary feed streams. The
substrate used for the deposition was borosilicate glass with the thickness of 0.7 mm.
The substrate was heated on a resistively heated nickel block set at 550°C. The
deposition time for these films was 55 seconds in a static mode, and the resulting ZnO
films had a thickness of 725 nm, for a deposition rate of 13.2 nm/s. The sheet
resistance for the films was measured using an automated 4-point probe scanning
station. The average sheet resistance data is presented in Table 1 is the average sheet
resistances across a 14x14 data matrix measured on a 6x6 inch wafer. The
transmittance and reflectance spectra were obtained using a Lambda 950
spectrophotometer. In all spectra the zeroing of the instrument was done with air
ambient.
10
[0038] Transmittance curves for a set of samples are shown in Fig. 5. The
transmittance curve for the AZO samples with 55 nm (Ryk9-2), 65 nm (Ryk9-3) and
75 nm (Ryk9-4) thick AI2O3 undercoats are shown. For comparison, the transmittance
curve for the AZO/glass sample without undercoat is shown (Ryk20-25t). The AZO
layer thickness is 145 nm for all structures. The considerable increase in (350-450)
transmittance nm is visible in figure 5. The reduction in the sheet resistance of 28 % is
shown in Table 1.
Table 1 Thickness and electrical properties for the AZO/undercoat/borosilicate
stacks.
~# I AI2O3, nm I AZO I SR, Q/sq
Ryk20-25 none 145±5 23,2
Ryk9-2 55 145±5 16.41
Ryk9-3 65 145±5 16.87
~Ryk9-4 I 75 I 145+6 I 16.84
Example 2
[0039] The transmittance curves for the glass/AI2O3/AZO films wdth 55 (Ryk6-1),
65 (Ryk6-3) and 75 (Ryk6-2) nm thick undercoats are presented in Fig. 6. The AZO
film thickness was 175 nm (Table2). The iridescent color of the coatings is greatly
reduced by utilization of the undercoat. The variation in the visible reflectance for the
AZO samples without undercoat is 79.5 to 88 %. This variation represents 9.6 %
difference in the visible transmittance from the valley to the peak. The variation in the
visible reflectance for the glass/AI2O3/AZO structures is reduced to 2.3 %. This
flattening of the transmittance curve is due to dramatic decrease of the reflectance
(Fig 6).
[0040] The sheet resistance of the coatings with AI2O3 undercoat is reduced by 15
% as compared to the structures without undercoat is shown in Table 2.
Table 2 Thickness and electrical properties for the AZO/undercoat/borosilicate
stacks.
^ I Alz03, nm I AZO I SR, Q/sq
Ryk6-4 none 175+4 18.3+1.6
Ryk6-1 55 175±5 15.02+0.99
Ryk6-2 75 175+6 15.80+0.72
Ryk6-3 I 65 I 175+6 | 15.7+0.81
11
Example 3
AI2O3 layers (65 nm) thick were deposited on borosilicate glass substrates. AZO
films, 165 nm thick were deposited on top of glass/AlaOs undercoats. OLED devices
were fabricated under similar conditions for all samples presented in Table 3 on top of
glass/AZO/HIL and glass/Al203/AZO/HIL stacks. The external quantum efficiencies
(EQE) were calculated for substrates with and without undercoats (Table 3). The
devices were manufactured with organic hole injection layers (HIL) deposited on top
of the AZO films. The increase of the OLED efficiency of 9.1-11.6 % is shown in
Table 3.
Table 3. Turn on voltage (V), external quantum efficiency (EQE) and the calculated
increase of the EQE with AI2O3 undercoat layer and without.
I HIL, nm I V, Volts I EQE, % I % Increase
Glass/AZO 30 3^8 12 :
Glass/Al203/AZO 30 3^8 13,4 11^6
Glass/AZO 35 4 IZA :
Glass/AI203/AZO | 35 14 I 13.2 I 9.1
[0041] Although the invention is illustrated and described herein with reference to
specific embodiments, the invention is not intended to be limited to the details shown.
Rather, various modifications may be made in the details within the scope and range
of equivalents of the claims and without departing from the invention.

What is Claimed:
1. A method for forming a light-emitting device, the method
comprising:
providing a substrate having a first refractive index;
coupling a transparent electrode to an organic layer, the transparent
electrode having a second refractive index different from the first refractive index;
selecting an undercoat layer having a third refractive index to
substantially match the first refractive index to the second refractive index; and
providing the undercoat layer between the substrate and the transparent
electrode.
2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the organic layer
emits light through the transparent electrode, and
the step of selecting the undercoat includes minimizing a reflection of
the emitted light at an interface between the transparent electrode and the substrate.
3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the step of selecting
the undercoat includes increasing an amount of light transmitted from the transparent
electrode to the substrate.
4. The method according to claim 2, wherein the step of selecting
the undercoat includes decreasing the resistivity of the transparent electrode.
5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of selecting an
undercoat layer includes selecting a number of sub-layers to produce the third
refractive index,
wherein the undercoat layer provided between the substrate and the
transparent electrode includes the number of selected sub-layers.
6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of selecting
the undercoat layer includes selecting the undercoat layer to reduce an iridescence of
the transparent electrode.
13
7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of selecting
the undercoat layer includes selecting the undercoat layer to reduce a sodium ion
migration from the substrate to the transparent electrode.
8. A light-emitting device comprising:
a substrate having a first refractive index;
a transparent electrode coupled to an organic layer and disposed
between the organic layer and the substrate, the transparent electrode having a second
refractive index different from the first refractive index; and
an undercoat layer disposed between the substrate and the transparent
electrode, the undercoat layer having a third refractive index,
wherein the undercoat layer is formed with the third refractive index
such that the first refractive index is substantially matched to the second refi-active
index.
9. The light-emitting device according to claim 8, wherein the
undercoat layer includes one or more sub-layers selected to form the third refi-active
index.
10. The light-emitting device according to claim 9, wherein the one
or more sub-layers is formed using a same material.
11. The light-emitting device according to claim 8, wherein a
material of the undercoat layer comprises at least one of silicon oxide, tin oxide,
titanium oxide, aluminiun oxide or zinc oxide.
12. The light-emitting device according to claim 8, wherein the
substrate is formed from a transparent material.
13. The light-emitting device according to claim 12, wherein the
material of the substrate comprises soda lime glass or borosilicate glass.
14. The light-emitting device according to claim 8, wherein a
material of the transparent electrode comprises doped zinc oxide, indium tin oxide
14
(ITO), indium zinc oxide (IZO), F-doped tin oxide or niobium-doped titanium
dioxide.
15. The light-emitting device according to claim 8, further
comprising a metal electrode disposed on the organic layer.
16. The light-emitting device according to claim 8, wherein the
light-emitting device includes an organic light emitting diode (OLED).
17. A method for fabricating a light-emitting device, the method
comprising:
forming an undercoat layer on a substrate by a first chemical vapor
deposition (CVD) process;
forming a transparent electrode on the undercoat layer by a second
chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process; and
forming an organic layer on the transparent electrode,
wherein the substrate has a first refractive index and the transparent
electrode has a second refractive index different from the first refractive index, and
the undercoat layer is formed to have a third refractive index such that
the first refractive index is substantially matched to the second refractive index.
18. The method according to claim 17, wherein the step of forming
the undercoat layer includes forming one or more sub-layers by the chemical vapor
deposition (CVD) process to form the third refractive index.
19. The method according to claim 17, wherein the chemical vapor
deposition (CVD) process is performed at a temperature of 300° C to 650° C.
20. The method according to claim 17, wherein the chemical vapor
deposition (CVD) process is performed at atmospheric pressure.
21. The method according to claim 17, further ipcluding forming a
metal electrode on the organic layer.