Electron injection and transport mechanism in organic devices based on electron transport materials

Electron injection and transport in organic devices based on electron transport (ET) materials, such as 4,7- diphyenyl-1,10-phenanthroline (Bathophenanthroline BPhen), 2,9-dimethyl-4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline (Bathocuproine BCP) and bipyridyl oxadiazole compound 1,3-bis [2-(2,2'-bipyridin-6-yl)-1,3,4-oxadiazol-5-yl]benzene (Bpy-OXD), have been reported. The devices are composed of ITO/ET materials (BPhen, BCP Bpy-OXD)/cathodes, where cathodes = Au, Al and Ca. Current–voltage characteristics of each ET material are performed as a function of cathodes. We have found that Ca and Al exhibit quite different J–V characteristics compared with the gold (Au) cathode. The current is more than one order of magnitude higher for the Al cathode and more than three orders of magnitude higher for Ca compared with that of the Au cathode at ~8 V for all ET materials. This is because of the relatively low energy barrier at the organic/metal interface for Ca and Al cathodes. Electron-only devices with the Au cathode show that the electron transfer limitation is located at the organic/cathode interface and the Fowler–Nordheim mechanism is qualitatively consistent with experimental data at high voltages. With Ca and Al cathodes, electron conduction is preponderant and is bulk limited. A power law dependence J ~ Vm with m > 2 is consistent with the model of trap-charge limited conduction. The total electron trap density is estimated to be ~5 × 1018 cm−3. The critical voltage (Vc) is found to be ~45 V and is almost independent of the materials.