High performance red and green phosphorescent emitters suitable for the BT.2020 color gamut

Abstract

In this work, we investigated the potential for phosphorescent emitters to achieve the BT.2020 color standard in displays, where the CIE coordinates for red and green are (0.709, 0.292) and (0.170, 0.797), respectively. Optical simulations were performed for both green and red top emission organic light emitting devices (OLEDs). For the green emitter, it is possible to reach (0.170, 0.785) using a spectrum with a peak wavelength (λ_max) at 526 nm and a full width at half maximum (FWHM) less than 30 nm. For the red emitter, in order to achieve (0.708, 0.292) while maintaining a high current efficiency (CE), it is important to decrease the FWHM instead of red-shifting the spectrum. Following the guidance of these simulation results, we designed and synthesized novel deep green (DGD) and deep red phosphorescent (DRD-II) emitters. The photoluminescent (PL) spectrum of DGD shows an FWHM of 30 nm and a λ_max of 523 nm. A top-emission green OLED built using DGD reached a CE of 171 cd/A at an operating voltage of 3.3 V and a lifetime of 95% of initial brightness (LT₉₅) > 1300 h at 10 mA/cm² with a CIE (x, y) = (0.170, 0.777). This is, to our knowledge, the best device performance ever reported for a green phosphorescent OLED at this CIE y. The PL spectrum of DRD-II has a λ_max of 630 nm with an FWHM of 30 nm. A top-emission red OLED built with DRD-II achieved a CE of 59 cd/A, an operating voltage of 3.2 V and an LT₉₅ over 20,000 h at a drive current of 10 mA/cm² with a CIE (x, y) = (0.708, 0.292). We also studied the angular dependence of the above devices and found they were comparable to devices with commercial emitters for the Digital Cinema Initiative P3 (DCI-P3) standard that had a wider FWHM. Combining these green and red emitters with a commercial blue OLED at (0.131, 0.046), we are able to cover 97% of the BT.2020 color gamut. The results using DGD and DRD-II suggest that they have great potential to satisfy BT.2020 in an organic phosphorescent system.