The use of tin oxide thin films as a transparent electrode in PPV based light-emitting diodes

Tin oxide (TO) thin films, nominally undoped, have been used as electrodes in poly(p-phenylene vinylene) (PPV) based organic electroluminescent devices. The evolution of the crystallinity and the electrical resistance of TO films submitted to the PPV thermal conversion conditions, have been investigated. It has been found that the electrical resistance is decreased whereas the crystallinity of the film is increased. It is shown in this work, that the photoluminescence of PPV converted on top of TO substrates is not as quenched as it is when converted on top of indium-tin oxide (ITO) substrates. The quantum efficiency of light-emitting diode is 0.07% at 17 V forward bias. It is also shown that the work function of TO films is very stable to different cleaning procedures, in contrast with previous results obtained for ITO films. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.