Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 January 2011
We describe the fabrication and characterization of solution processedorganic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) based on novel near-infrared emittingerbium(III) complexes, consisting of three perfluoroalkyl-β-diketone ligandsand 5-NO2-1,10-phenanthroline as chelating N,N-donor molecule.The function of N,N molecule is to saturate the coordination sphere of theerbium ion and to harvest excitation light that can be transferred to theexcited states of the erbium ion. The devices have been fabricated byspin-coating, using 1 %wt methanol precursor solutions. These Er-complexesform very uniform thin films. The OLED structure is glass/indium–tinoxide(ITO) / poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) / poly(4-styrenesulfonate)(PEDOT:PSS)/Er-complex/Ca/Al. The good electrical response, with lowthreshold voltages (a few volts), together with the very uniform thin filmsformed, made these complexes promising for IR emitting displays.