Researchers from Korea's Yonsei University developed a new highly-promising stretchable OLED device by sequential coating technique. The new device can stretch up to 70% and maintain 80% brightness after 300 cycles at 40% strain. The OLED offers a maximum brightness of 3,151 nits and a total current efficiency of 5.4 cd/A.
The researchers say that standard stretchable OLEDs (what they refer to as intrinsically-stretchable OLEDs, or is-OLED) suffer from reduced performance due to orthogonal solvent problem and also the standard lamination process may cause defects and delamination. The new technique overcomes these issues.
The researchers also note that this research represents a "departure from more complex lamination techniques" through rational material engineering and optimized device construction. The approach significantly contributes to simplifying the fabrication process, making it more accessible for the development of next-generation stretchable optoelectronic devices.
Fine-tuning some of the aspects of production (for example the choice of cathode, an Ag stretchable cathode in that case, and the thickness and material composition of the ETL) may improve the performance meaningfully. This leads the researchers to believe that in the future we can expect significant performance improvements in stretchable OLEDs.
