Exciton management and balanced charge-carrier transport enable efficient organic field-effect light-emitting transistors

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Donghai Li - , Northwestern Polytechnical University Xian (Author)
  • Yuchen Hou - , Northwestern Polytechnical University Xian (Author)
  • Jian Wang - , Nanjing Tech University (Author)
  • Shen Xing - , Chair of Opto-Electronics, Dresden Integrated Center for Applied Physics and Photonics Materials (DC-IAPP) (Author)
  • Zihong Shen - , Northwestern Polytechnical University Xian (Author)
  • Yeting Tao - , Nanjing Tech University (Author)
  • Yuan Liu - , Beijing Information Science & Technology University (Author)
  • Wenbo Yuan - , Nanjing Tech University (Author)
  • Xiaowang Liu - , Northwestern Polytechnical University Xian (Author)
  • Weidong Xu - , Northwestern Polytechnical University Xian (Author)
  • Xiangchun Li - , Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications (Author)
  • Karl Leo - , Dresden Integrated Center for Applied Physics and Photonics Materials (DC-IAPP), Chair of Opto-Electronics (Author)
  • Zhongbin Wu - , Northwestern Polytechnical University Xian (Author)
  • Youtian Tao - , Nanjing Tech University (Author)
  • Wei Huang - , Northwestern Polytechnical University Xian, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Sun Yat-Sen University (Author)

Abstract

Organic light-emitting transistors integrate the switching ability of a transistor with the emissive property of an organic light-emitting diode. Among them, organic field-effect light-emitting transistors (OFE-LETs) have recently gained increasing attention due to their simplified device structure, low leakage current and ease of integration. However, OFE-LETs often suffer from unbalanced electron and hole transport, leading to a low radiative recombination efficiency in the emissive layer and low device efficiency. Here we present a promising device architecture in which the functions of charge-carrier transport and light emission are spatially separated, enabling precise exciton management. The use of carbazole/oxadiazole hybrid molecules coupled with a strong electron-withdrawing cyano moiety results in balanced charge-carrier transport, creating a broad exciton recombination zone and enhancing the radiative recombination efficiency. Accordingly, red, green and blue OFE-LETs achieve peak external quantum efficiencies of 18.4, 21.2 and 14.4%, and current efficiencies of 26.9, 78.0 and 31.7 cd A−1, respectively. These values rank among the highest for organic light-emitting transistors so far. Furthermore, the patterned OFE-LET arrays with an aperture ratio of over 60% and pixel circuits that exhibit only 5.6% parasitic power dissipation demonstrate promising potential for low-power-consumption display technologies.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)109-118
Number of pages10
JournalNature Photonics
Volume20
Issue number1
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2026
Peer-reviewedYes