December 1996
REVIEW
Status of and prospects for organic electroluminescence
L.J. Rothberg, A.J. Lovinger
(Bell Laboratories-Lucent Technologies)
 We review the device and materials science behind organic electro-luminescent diodes made both using discrete evaporable molecules and spin-cast organic polymers. A great deal of progress has been made in improving the efficiencies and spectral properties of organic light-emitting diodes, and these are now adequate for many applications. More work is necessary to understand the stability and degradation of emissive and charge-transporting organics, but some systems have been shown to be stable for 104 hours at display brightness. Major challenges still face the community in terms of developing satisfactory systems design and processing techniques if organic electroluminescence is to realize either performance or economic advantages over alternative technologies and significantly penetrate the display market. We present an analysis of the suitability of organic light-emittingdiodes for various applications, and consider the materials and manufacturing obstacles that must be overcome.
Keywords: optoelectronic materials; thin film; optical spectroscopy
 Order No.: JA612-032 1996 MRS

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