Triplets Contribute to Both an Increase and Loss in Fluorescent Yield in Organic Light Emitting Diodes

Nonradiative triplets in fluorescent organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) can lead to increased efficiency through triplet-triplet annihilation, or to decreased efficiency due to singlet-triplet annihilation. We study the tradeoff between the two processes from the electroluminescence transients of an OLED comprising a tetraphenyldibenzoperiflanthene (DBP) doped rubrene emissive layer, whose emission spectrum peaks at a wavelength of 610 nm. The electroluminescent transients in the current density range, 4 m Lambda/cm(2) < J < 57 Lambda=cm(2), are modeled based on singlet and triplet density dynamics. Our analysis shows that triplets positively contribute to the OLED efficiency at J < 2.2 Lambda/cm(2), while decreasing the efficiency at higher J. The high OLED peak external quantum efficiency of 6.7% and rapid efficiency roll-off with J are quantitatively explained by the tradeoff between triplet-triplet and singlet-triplet annihilation. The model suggests optimal materials properties needed for achieving high efficiency at high brightness in fluorescent OLEDs.