New light from hybrid inorganic–organic emitters

We present the highlights of a research programme on hybrid inorganic-organic light emitters. These devices combine recent developments in III-V nitride technology (including UV emitting micro-arrays and specifically tailored quantum wells) with conjugated polymers to access the entire visible spectrum. Two types of devices are studied, those based on down conversion of the quantum well emission by radiative transfer and those based on non-radiative resonant energy transfer. The spectral and operating characteristics of the devices are described in detail. Selectable colour micro-arrays and bar emitters are demonstrated. The nature of the non-radiative energy transfer process has also been studied and we find transfer efficiencies of up to 43% at 15 K, with a 1/R2 dependence on the distance between quantum well and polymer layer, suggesting a plane-plane interaction. The relative importance of the non-radiative resonant energy transfer process increases with temperature to be up to 20 times more efficient, at 300 K, than the radiative transfer process.