Organic light-emitting devices with extended operating lifetimes on plastic substrates

We fabricate long-lived organic light-emitting devices using a 175 mum thick polyethylene terephthalate substrate coated with an organic-inorganic multilayered barrier film and compare the rate of degradation to glass-based devices. The observed permeation rate of water vapor through the plastic substrate was estimated to be 2x10(-6) g/m(2)/day. Driven at 2.5 mA/cm(2), we measure a device lifetime of 3800 h from an initial luminance of 425 cd/m(2). (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.