Significant improvement of device durability in organic light-emitting diodes by doping both hole transport and emitter layers with rubrene molecules

We have developed highly durable organic light-emitting diodes. The basic structure of the diodes is anode/hole injection layer/hole transport layer+dopant/emitter layer+dopant/cathode. Both the hole transport and the emitter layers were doped with the highly fluorescent rubrene molecules. With the doping of both layers, 85% of the initial luminance was successively maintained even after 1000 h of continuous operation under constant current driving. Doping of only one of these layers, either the hole transport layer or emitter layer, on the other hand, resulted in shorter lifetime. We mention the possible mechanisms of the doping that enhance the device duration. (C) 1999 American Institute of Physics. [S0003-6951(99)03132-0].