Advances in organic phosphorescent materials are opening new opportunities for organic 

light-emitting diodes for combined electronics and light applications, including solar cells, 

photodiodes, optical fibers and lasers.

While low-dimensional luminescent materials, like the calcium titanium oxide mineral 

perovskite, have promising optical properties, their performance remains insufficient com

pared to conventional organic LEDs. A recent study, published in this week's Applied Physics 

Reviews, explores a new approach using an exciton confinement effect to optimize highly 

efficient perovskite LEDs.

To achieve an efficient electroluminescent device, it must have a high photoluminescence 

quantum yield emission layer, efficient electron hole injection and transport layers, and high 

light out-coupling efficiency. With each new advance in emission layer material, new functional 

materials are required to realize a more efficient LED. To accomplish this goal, the authors of 

the study explored the performance of an amorphous zinc-silica-oxide system layered with 

perovskite crystals to improve the diode performance.

"We think that many people [are] too focused on an emission layer," said Hideo Hosono, 

corresponding author on the study. "For a device, all layers are equally important since each 

layer has a different [but] crucial role."