Thermal analysis of high intensity organic light-emitting diodes based on a transmission matrix approach

We use a general transmission matrix formalism to determine the thermal response of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) under high currents normally encountered in ultra-bright illumination conditions. This approach, based on Laplace transforms, facilitates the calculation of transient coupled heat transfer in a multi-layer composite characteristic of OLEDs. Model calculations are compared with experimental data on 5 cm × 5 cm green and red-emitting electrophosphorescent OLEDs under various current drive conditions. This model can be extended to study other complex optoelectronic structures under a wide variety of conditions that include heat removal via conduction, radiation, and convection. We apply the model to understand the effects of using high-thermal-conductivity substrates, and the transient thermal response under pulsed-current operation.