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Optical Sensing of Current Dynamics in Organic Light‐Emitting Devices at the Nanometer Scale
Author(s) -
Nothaft Maximilian,
Höhla Steffen,
Nicolet Aurélien,
Jelezko Fedor,
Frühauf Norbert,
Pflaum Jens,
Wrachtrup Jörg
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
chemphyschem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.016
H-Index - 140
eISSN - 1439-7641
pISSN - 1439-4235
DOI - 10.1002/cphc.201100442
Subject(s) - photoluminescence , nanometre , population , relaxation (psychology) , quenching (fluorescence) , optoelectronics , materials science , oled , chemical physics , light emitting diode , molecule , chemistry , fluorescence , nanotechnology , optics , physics , layer (electronics) , organic chemistry , psychology , social psychology , demography , sociology , composite material
Photoluminescence quenching of single dibenzoterrylene (DBT) dye molecules in a polymeric organic light‐emitting diode was utilized to analyze the current dynamics at nanometer resolution. The quenching mechanism of single DBT molecules results from an increase in the triplet‐state population induced by charge carrier recombination on individual guest molecules. As a consequence of the long triplet‐state relaxation time, its population results in a reduced photoluminescence of the dispersed fluorescent dyes. From the decrease in photoluminescence together with photon correlation measurements, we could quantify the local current density and its time‐dependent evolution in the vicinity of the single‐molecule probe. This optical technique establishes a non‐invasive approach to map the time‐resolved current density in organic light‐emitting diodes on the nanometer scale.