The origin of electron injection improvement in organic light-emitting devices with an organic oxide/rubrene electron injection layer

The electronic structure of tris(8-hydroquinoline) aluminum (Alq3)/rubrene/poly(ethylene glycol) dimethyl ether (PEGDE)/Al interfaces was studied using in situ ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The UPS and XPS spectra allowed us to evaluate the complete energy level diagrams and to analyze the chemical interactions at the interfaces. When a PEGDE/rubrene double layer was inserted between Al and Alq3, the electron injection barrier height was greatly reduced compared to the interface without PEGDE/rubrene or with a single insertion layer of either PEGDE or rubrene.