Extracting evolution of recombination zone position in sandwiched solid-state light-emitting electrochemical cells by employing microcavity effect

Abstract

Techniques of probing for time-dependent evolution of recombination zone position in sandwiched light-emitting electrochemical cells (LECs) would be highly desired since they can provide direct experimental evidence to confirm altered carrier balance when device parameters are adjusted. However, direct imaging of recombination zones in thin emissive layers of sandwiched LECs could not be obtained easily. In this work, we propose an alternative way to extract evolution of recombination zone position in sandwiched LECs by utilizing microcavity effect. Recombination zone positions can be estimated by fitting the measured electroluminescence spectra to simulated output spectra based on microcavity effect and properly adjusted emissive zone positions. With this tool, effects of modified carrier transport and carrier injection on performance of LECs are studied and significantly altered carrier balance can be measured, revealing that microcavity effect is useful in tracing evolution of recombination zone position in sandwiched LECs. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.