Advances in OLED/OPD-based spectrometer on-a-chip

We describe ongoing advances toward achieving an integrated all-organic spectrometer on a chip. To this end, 2-dimensional combinatorial arrays of microcavity (μc) organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) with systematically varying optical cavity lengths were fabricated on a single chip by changing the thickness of different organic and/or spacer layers sandwiched between the two metal electrodes. The latter, one of which is semitransparent, form the cavity. The tunable and narrower emissions from the μcOLEDs serve as excitation sources of varying wavelength for monitoring light absorption or emission. For each wavelength, the light from the μcOLED is partially absorbed by the sample under study and the transmitted light (or the light emitted by an electronically excited sample) is detected by a photodetector (PD). To obtain a compact monitor, an organic PD (OPD) is fabricated and integrated with the μcOLED array. We show the potential of encompassing a broader wavelength range by using μcOLEDs based on different emitting layers. The OPD used to realize the first all-organic integrated spectrometer described here is based on P3HT:PCBM, though more sensitive OPDs we utilized in sensing applications are expected to improve the spectrometers’ performance. The utility of this all-organic μcOLED/OPD spectrometer is shown for monitoring the absorption spectra of P3HT and Alexa Fluor 405 films. The results show excellent agreement with the absorption spectra obtained with a commercial Ocean Optics spectrometer.