Improved lifetime of highly flexible OLEDs based on multilayered transparent electrodes with enhanced barrier performance

Abstract

Flexible organic light-emitting diodes (FOLEDs) showing enhanced barrier properties under repeated mechanical stress are reported. By combining metal-based multilayer transparent electrodes (MTEs) as highly flexible anodes replacing ITO electrodes and sol-gel organic-inorganic hybrimers which function as both planarizing films and barrier layers, the proposed FOLEDs not only exhibit a level of performance comparable to that of ITO-based reference devices but also show a superior mechanical flexibility with "after-bending" lifetime close to that of ITO-based devices.