Low voltage and fast speed all-polymeric optocouplers

An all-polymeric optocoupler has been demonstrated with a polymer light-emitting diode (PLED) as the light source (input unit) and a polymer/fullerene photodiode (PD) as the detector (output unit). The electroluminescence (EL) peak of the PLED is 560nm, and the entire EL spectrum is within the response range of the PD. The optocoupler can work at low driving voltages, 5V on the PLED and 0V on the PD. The output photocurrent increases linearly with input current, and the current density transfer ratio reaches 1.5%. The frequency response of the optocoupler is at 500kHz. With comparable performance to their inorganic counterparts, the all-polymeric optocouplers demonstrated here will bring the technology of organic photonic devices one step closer to commercialization.