Engineering Commons^™

Passivation Of Polymer Light-Emitting Diodes, Stephen A. Fehrman

Electrical Engineering

This senior project investigates various methods of packaging polymer LEDs. The polymer LEDs fabricated in the EE 422 Polymer Electronics lab use calcium cathodes. While calcium acts as an excellent low work function electrode, it quickly oxidizes in the presence of oxygen or water. Additionally, the intrusion of water can degrade the OC1C10-PPV electroluminescent polymer and the PEDOT polymer. Therefore, in order to use these devices outside the inert atmosphere of a glove box, we must first apply a passivation layer that inhibits the deterioration of these materials.

For this project I will test two packaging methods. The first method …