Effect of the Ag thickness on the Light Extraction Efficiency of the OLED with an ITO/Ag/ITO Anode

Abstract

The light extraction efficiency of the organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) with an ITO/Ag/ITO anode was analyzed by using the finite-difference time domain (FDTD) simulation method. For different inserted Ag thickness, the light extraction ratio was reduced as increasing the Ag thickness. The simulation results also showed the light extraction ratio began to be saturated at a critical angle as increasing the simulation monitor num as a result of the extraction loss due to the wave-guide mode by a total internal reflection. From the simulated electric field profiles, the light-outcoupling loss due to the surface plasmon polariton (SPP) mode was more apparently investigated as increasing the Ag thickness. In the fabrication of the OLED with ITO/Ag/ITO anode, the Ag thickness should be optimized with respect to the light extraction efficiency of the OLED as well as the electrical conductivity of the anode.