A Study on the Electron Transfer at the Alq3/Ba and Alq3/Au Interfaces by NEXAFS Spectroscopy

Tris(8-quinolinolato)aluminum(III); $Alq_3$ has been frequently used as an electron transporting layer in organic light-emitting diodes. Either Ba with a low work function or Au with a high work function was deposited on $Alq_3$ layer in vacuum. And then, the behaviors of electron transition at the $Alq_3$/Ba and $Alq_3$/Au interfaces were investigated by using the near edge x-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy. In the each interface, the energy levels of unoccupied obitals were assigned as ${\pi}^*$(LUMO, LUMO+1, LUMO+2 and LUMO+3) and ${\sigma}^*$. And the relative intensities of these peaks were investigated. In an oxygen atom composing $Alq_3$ molecule, the relative intensities for a transition from K-edge to LUMO+2 were largely increased as Ba coverage (${\Theta}_{Ba}$, 2.7 eV) with a low work function was in-situ sequentially increased on $Alq_3$ layer. In contrast, the relative intensities for the LUMO+2 peak were reduced as Au coverage (${\Theta}_{Au}$, 5.1 eV) with a high work function were increased on $Alq_3$ layer. This means that the electron transition by photon in oxygen atom which consists in the unoccupied orbitals in $Alq_3$ molecule, largely depends on work function of a metal. Meanwhile, in the case of electron transition in a carbon atom, as ${\Theta}_{Ba}$ was increased on $Alq_3$, the relative intensity from K-edge to ${\pi}_1{^*}$ (LUMO and LUMO+1) was slightly decreased, and from K-edge to ${\pi}_2{^*}$ (LUMO+2 and LUMO+3) was somewhat increased. This rising of the energy state from ${\pi}_1{^*}$ to ${\pi}_2{^*}$ exhibits that electrons provided by Ba would contribute to the process of electron transition in the $Alq_3$/Ba interfaces. As shown in above observation, the analyses of NEXAFS spectra in each interface could be important as a basic data to understand the process of electron transition by photon in pure organic materials.

NEXAFS 분광법에 의한 Alq3/Ba과 Alq3/Au의 계면에서의 전자 천이에 관한 연구