Search Results
Experimental proof of Joule heating-induced switched-back regions in OLEDs
Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) have become a major pixel technology in the display sector, with products spanning the entire range of current panel sizes. The ability to freely scale the active area to large and random surfaces paired with flexible substrates provides additional application scenarios for OLEDs in the general lighting, automotive, and signage sectors. These applications require higher brightness and, thus, current density operation compared to the specifications needed for general displays. As extended transparent electrodes pose a significant ohmic resistance, OLEDs suffering from Joule self-heating exhibit spatial inhomogeneities in electrical potential, current density, and hence luminance. In this article, we provide experimental proof of the theoretical prediction that OLEDs will display regions of decreasing luminance with increasing driving current. With a two-dimensional OLED model, we can conclude that these regions are switched back locally in voltage as well as current due to insufficient lateral thermal coupling. Experimentally, we demonstrate this effect in lab-scale devices and derive that it becomes more severe with increasing pixel size, which implies its significance for large-area, high-brightness use cases of OLEDs. Equally, these non-linear switching effects cannot be ignored with respect to the long-term operation and stability of OLEDs; in particular, they might be important for the understanding of sudden-death scenarios. © 2020, The Author(s).
Drift–diffusion simulation of S-shaped current–voltage relations for organic semiconductor devices
We present an electrothermal drift–diffusion model for organic semiconductor devices with Gauss–Fermi statistics and positive temperature feedback for the charge carrier mobilities. We apply temperature-dependent Ohmic contact boundary conditions for the electrostatic potential and discretize the system by a finite volume based generalized Scharfetter–Gummel scheme. Using path-following techniques, we demonstrate that the model exhibits S-shaped current–voltage curves with regions of negative differential resistance, which were only recently observed experimentally. © 2020, The Author(s).
Optimal Entropy-Transport problems and a new Hellinger-Kantorovich distance between positive measures
We develop a full theory for the new class of Optimal Entropy-Transport problems between nonnegative and finite Radon measures in general topological spaces. They arise quite naturally by relaxing the marginal constraints typical of Optimal Transport problems: given a couple of finite measures (with possibly different total mass), one looks for minimizers of the sum of a linear transport functional and two convex entropy functionals, that quantify in some way the deviation of the marginals of the transport plan from the assigned measures. As a powerful application of this theory, we study the particular case of Logarithmic Entropy-Transport problems and introduce the new Hellinger-Kantorovich distance between measures in metric spaces. The striking connection between these two seemingly far topics allows for a deep analysis of the geometric properties of the new geodesic distance, which lies somehow between the well-known Hellinger-Kakutani and Kantorovich-Wasserstein distances.
An effective bulk-surface thermistor model for large-area organic light-emitting diodes
The existence of a weak solution for an effective system of partial differential equations describing the electrothermal behavior of large-area organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) is proved. The effective system consists of the heat equation in the three-dimensional bulk glass substrate and two semi-linear equations for the current flow through the electrodes coupled to algebraic equations for the continuity of the electrical fluxes through the organic layers. The electrical problem is formulated on the (curvilinear) surface of the glass substrate where the OLED is mounted. The source terms in the heat equation are due to Joule heating and are hence concentrated on the part of the boundary where the current-flow equation is posed. The existence of weak solutions to the effective system is proved via Schauder's fixed-point theorem. Moreover, since the heat sources are a priori only in $L^1$, the concept of entropy solutions is used.
A coarse‐grained electrothermal model for organic semiconductor devices
We derive a coarse-grained model for the electrothermal interaction of organic semiconductors. The model combines stationary drift-diffusion- based electrothermal models with thermistor-type models on subregions of the device and suitable transmission conditions. Moreover, we prove existence of a solution using a regularization argument and Schauder's fixed point theorem. In doing so, we extend recent work by taking into account the statistical relation given by the Gauss–Fermi integral and mobility functions depending on the temperature, charge-carrier density, and field strength, which is required for a proper description of organic devices.
Introducing pinMOS Memory: A Novel, Nonvolatile Organic Memory Device
In recent decades, organic memory devices have been researched intensely and they can, among other application scenarios, play an important role in the vision of an internet of things. Most studies concentrate on storing charges in electronic traps or nanoparticles while memory types where the information is stored in the local charge up of an integrated capacitance and presented by capacitance received far less attention. Here, a new type of programmable organic capacitive memory called p-i-n-metal-oxide-semiconductor (pinMOS) memory is demonstrated with the possibility to store multiple states. Another attractive property is that this simple, diode-based pinMOS memory can be written as well as read electrically and optically. The pinMOS memory device shows excellent repeatability, an endurance of more than 104 write-read-erase-read cycles, and currently already over 24 h retention time. The working mechanism of the pinMOS memory under dynamic and steady-state operations is investigated to identify further optimization steps. The results reveal that the pinMOS memory principle is promising as a reliable capacitive memory device for future applications in electronic and photonic circuits like in neuromorphic computing or visual memory systems. © 2019 The Authors. Published by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
Homogenization of Cahn-Hilliard-type equations via evolutionary Gamma-convergence
In this paper we discuss two approaches to evolutionary Gamma-convergence of gradient systems in Hilbert spaces. The formulation of the gradient system is based on two functionals, namely the energy functional and the dissipation potential, which allows us to employ Gamma-convergence methods. In the first approach we consider families of uniformly convex energy functionals such that the limit passage of the time-dependent problems can be based on the theory of evolutionary variational inequalities as developed by Daneri and Savare 2010. The second approach uses the equivalent formulation of the gradient system via the energy-dissipation principle and follows the ideas of Sandier and Serfaty 2004. We apply both approaches to rigorously derive homogenization limits for Cahn-Hilliard-type equations. Using the method of weak and strong two-scale convergence via periodic unfolding, we show that the energy and dissipation functionals Gamma-converge. In conclusion, we will give specific examples for the applicability of each of the two approaches.
Optimal Entropy-Transport problems and a new Hellinger–Kantorovich distance between positive measures
We develop a full theory for the new class of Optimal Entropy-Transport problems between nonnegative and finite Radon measures in general topological spaces. These problems arise quite naturally by relaxing the marginal constraints typical of Optimal Transport problems: given a pair of finite measures (with possibly different total mass), one looks for minimizers of the sum of a linear transport functional and two convex entropy functionals, which quantify in some way the deviation of the marginals of the transport plan from the assigned measures. As a powerful application of this theory, we study the particular case of Logarithmic Entropy-Transport problems and introduce the new Hellinger–Kantorovich distance between measures in metric spaces. The striking connection between these two seemingly far topics allows for a deep analysis of the geometric properties of the new geodesic distance, which lies somehow between the well-known Hellinger–Kakutani and Kantorovich–Wasserstein distances.
Electrothermal Tristability Causes Sudden Burn-In Phenomena in Organic LEDs
Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) have been established as a mature display pixel technology. While introducing the same technology in a large-area form factor to general lighting and signage applications, some key questions remain unanswered. Under high-brightness conditions, OLED panels were reported to exhibit nonlinear electrothermal behavior causing lateral brightness inhomogeneities and even regions of switched-back luminance. Also, the physical understanding of sudden device failure and burn-ins is still rudimentary. A safe and stable operation of lighting tiles, therefore, requires an in-depth understanding of these physical phenomena. Here, it is shown that the electrothermal treatment of thin-film devices allows grasping the underlying physics. Configurations of OLEDs with different lateral dimensions are studied as a role model and it is reported that devices exceeding a certain panel size develop three stable, self heating-induced operating branches. Switching between them causes the sudden formation of dark spots in devices without any preexisting inhomogeneities. A current-stabilized operation mode is commonly used in the lighting industry, as it ensures degradation-induced voltage adjustments. Here, it is demonstrated that a tristable operation always leads to destructive switching, independent of applying constant currents or voltages. With this new understanding of the effects at high operation brightness, it will be possible to adjust driving schemes accordingly, design more resilient system integrations, and develop additional failure mitigation strategies. © 2021 The Authors. Advanced Functional Materials published by Wiley-VCH GmbH
A coarse-grained electrothermal model for organic semiconductor devices
We derive a coarse-grained model for the electrothermal interaction of organic semiconductors. The model combines stationary drift-diffusion based electrothermal models with thermistor type models on subregions of the device and suitable transmission conditions. Moreover, we prove existence of a solution using a regularization argument and Schauder's fixed point theorem. In doing so, we extend recent work by taking into account the statistical relation given by the Gauss--Fermi integral and mobility functions depending on the temperature, charge-carrier density, and field strength, which is required for a proper description of organic devices.