High Performance Tandem OLEDs for Large Area Full Color AM Displays and Lighting Applications

Tandem OLED structures formed by connecting two or more low-voltage electroluminescent units (stacks) are effective for achieving high efficiency at low current density as well as long operational lifetime. We have fabricated white emitting tandem structures with two or three low-voltage white-emitting stacks using transparent organic "PN"-type connectors. Three- stack white tandem structures with efficiency greater than 24 cd/A at D65 and operational stability of about 110,000 h. (extrapolated) at $1000\;cd/m^2$ have been demonstrated. With a stacked structure, the power consumption for displays using an RGBW format can be reduced by 25% compared to previously described formulations. We have also fabricated advanced white tandem structures where the color gamut (NTSC x,y ratio) has been improved to greater than 70% using standard color filters. The white OLEDs can also be used to increase the colorrendering index CRI (>80%), an important consideration for solid-state lighting.