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The development of near-infrared (NIR) photodetection technologies is driven by emerging applications such as medical imaging or optical sensors for electronic displays and machine vision. An all-organic upconverter (OUD) is a device that converts incident NIR light directly into visible light and consists of a monolithic stack of a NIR organic photodetector (OPD) and a visible organic light-emitting diode (OLED). We present OUDs that consist of NIR heptamethine cyanine dyes/C60 fullerene OPDs and a fluorescent tris(8-hydroxyquinolinato)aluminium (Alq3) OLED. The device metrics of performance are a high external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 43% of the OPD part and an OUD luminance turn-on at low bias voltages of 2 V. The dynamic response of the photocurrent and luminance is linear over a NIR light range corresponding to 26 dB. These OUDs upconvert NIR light at 830 nm to green light with a photon-to-photon conversion efficiency of 0.61%, close to the expected maximum.

In this work, a near infrared (NIR) sensitive molecule, Tin(II)2,3-naphthalocyanine (SnNc) was characterized by different techniques. UV–Vis spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry were performed in order to determine the absorption spectrum, the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energies of this molecule deposited in form of thin films. We found energies of 5.0 ± 0.1 eV and 3.7 ± 0.1 eV for HOMO and LUMO, respectively. The charge carrier mobility was also investigated by space charge limit current technique showing values of μh (8.8 ± 0.1) x 10−5 cm2V−1s−1. SnNc alone or blended with fullerene was used as efficient NIR sensitive layer due to its absorption around 875 nm. The crystalline structure of SnNc was studied by X-ray powder diffraction, showing a monoclinic system and P21/c space group, with cell parameters a = (15.948 ± 6) A, b = (15.818 ± 2) A, c = (14.649 ± 1) A and β = (67.096 ± 6) A. Desorption/Ionization-Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry (LDI-TOFMS) technique was employed to obtain information of molecular structure of the SnNc in thin film, showing that the thin film of the SnNc has no dimer formation. Due to its absorption around 875 nm, SnNc blended with fullerene was used as efficient NIR sensitive layer in the fabrication of an organic up-conversion device. When the device is submitted to IR radiation, a gain of about 133% was observed in the luminous efficiency when compared to values without IR irradiation.

A series of NIR emitting novel ytterbium tris β-diketonate ternary complexes, [Yb(tta) 3 (L)]·H 2 O {tta = thenoyltrifluoroacetylacetone and L = dibenzyl sulphoxide (dbso), diphenyl sulphoxide (dpso) and benzoguinamine (bga)} was synthesised, and the photophysical and optoelectronic properties of their films were studied. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) analysis indicates that the complexes are seven-coordinate which is a highly asymmetric structure enhancing the radiative transitions. It is an indicative of efficient energy transfer from coordinated ligands to Yb ion. The complexes were doped in Tris(4-carbazoyl-9-ylphenyl)amine (TcTa) organic matrix and the doped samples were used as the emitting layers to fabricate near-infrared organic light emitting diodes (NIR-OLEDs) with the structure: Indium tin oxide/{N,N′-bis(naphtalen-2-yl)-N,N′-bis(phenyl) benzidine} (25 nm)/[Yb-complexes] (10%): TcTa (40 nm)/(2,9-Dimethyl-4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline) (15 nm)/tris(8-hydroxy-quinolinato) aluminium (10 nm)/LiF (0.5 nm)/Al (120 nm). The complex, [Yb(tta) 3 (dpso)]·H 2 O shows the highest electroluminescence (EL) efficiency with maximum irradiance of 22.48 μW/cm 2 and current density of 29.5 mA/cm 2 at 15 V. It indicates an improved EL performance over the reported devices based on the Yb (III) complexes. In view of electrical characteristics, the current-voltage responses were interpreted by using Mott–Gurney model which allows us to determine the carrier mobility of the complexes.

Hydrazones constitute a class of compounds presenting azomethine R′R″N N CH R hydrogens, which show diverse properties and a wide range of applications. A hydrazone derived from the antituberculosis drug isoniazid, namely, N,N′-diisonicotinoyl-2-hydroxy-5-methylisophthalaldehyde hydrazone (DMD) was synthesized and chemically characterized. Its luminescent properties were also investigated, as well as the possibility of using this compound as a constituent of the emitting layer for the fabrication of OLEDs. Co-deposited devices were fabricated using the organic molecule BSBF as matrix and DMD as dopant. All the devices presented a broad electroluminescence band, in which it was possible to recognize the DMD emission along with emissions of some of the other organic layers. The best results were obtained with 35% DMD doping, achieving a luminance of about 35 cd/m2.

In this study, a novel type of tris(2-acyl-1,3-indandione)-aluminum(III) coordination compounds of the general formula [Al(acind)3]H2O, where 2-acyl-1,3-indandione (acind), 2-acetyl-1,3-indandione (aind), 2-benzoyl-1,3-indandione (bind), and 4-methyl-2-benzoyl-1,3-indandione (mbind), were synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis (CHN), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) spectroscopies, thermal analysis (TG/DTG and DTA), and optical absorption spectroscopy in the UV-Vis region. These compounds present remarkably high green luminescence in powder and in thin-film forms. However, when these compounds are applied in glass/ITO/β-NPB/spiro-2CBP/[Al(acind)3]/Al and glass/ITO/β-NPB/[Al(acind)3]/LiF/Al electroluminescent devices, where spiro-2CBP is 2,7-bis(carbazol-9-yl)-9,9-spirobifluorene and β-NPB is N,N’-bis(naphthalen-2-yl)-N,N’-bis(phenyl)-benzidine, the emission color tuned from green to red, reflecting a change from the direct charge recombination in the emitting layer of the [Al(acind)3] complexes to an exciplex-based emission in which [Al(acind)3] complexes and spiro 2-CBP acted as acceptor and donor, respectively. These results suggest that [Al(acind)3] complexes have potential applications as molecular light converter materials for fabricating new electroluminescent devices.

Efficient light detection in the near-infrared (NIR) wavelength region is central to emerging applications such as medical imaging and machine vision. An organic upconverter (OUC) consists of a NIR-sensitive organic photodetector (OPD) and an visible organic light-emitting diode (OLED), connected in series. The device converts NIR light directly to visible light, allowing imaging of a NIR scene in the visible. Here, we present an OUC composed of a NIR-selective squaraine dye-based OPD and a fluorescent OLED. The OPD has a peak sensitivity at 980 nm and an internal photon-to-current conversion efficiency of ∼100%. The OUC conversion efficiency (0.27%) of NIR to visible light is close to the expected maximum. The materials of the OUC multilayer stack absorb very little light in the visible wavelength range. In combination with an optimized semitransparent metal top electrode, this enabled the fabrication of transparent OUCs with an average visible transmittance of 65% and a peak transmittance of 80% at 620 nm. Visibly transparent OUCs are interesting for window-integrated electronic circuits or imaging systems that allow for the simultaneous detection of directly transmitted visible and NIR upconverted light.