Interfacial Fracture of Perovskite Light-Emitting Devices

The research, led by SUNY Polytechnic Institute (SUNY Poly) President Dr. Winston Soboyejo and his colleagues at Worchester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), titled “Interfacial Cracking in Perovskite Light-Emitting Devices,” was published in the journal Extreme Mechanics Lists.

Study provides critical insights into the fracture behavior of perovskite light-emitting devices (PLEDs), highlighting the importance of interfacial strength in device performance. This could impact future materials and interface engineering strategies in optoelectronic devices.

In addition, understanding the interfacial cracking resistance of PLEDs can help design more robust devices by improving interlayer adhesion and reducing defect propagation. This can lead to increased PLED efficiency and durability.

Dr. Soboyejo first learned about contact damage and interface damage mechanics about 30 years ago. In the early 2000s, he began collaborating with a former Princeton colleague (Steve Forrest) and two former graduate students (Yifang Cao and Changsoon Kim) on a pressure-assisted method for fabricating light-emitting devices.

The findings from the combined experimental, analytical and computational studies resulted in a patented cold welding method for fabricating organic light-emitting devices, which Samsung then licensed for use in the production of LEDs.

Then, about 15 years ago, Dr. Soboyejo worked with a PhD student in electrical engineering at Princeton University (Tiffany Tong) to study interface failures in organic light-emitting devices.

This work develops the experimental approaches used in a study in which he supervised a former WPI PhD student (Jaya Cromwell) and a former WPI PhD student and postdoctoral fellow (Reisya Ichiwani) in investigating interface damage and hardening of next-generation light-emitting devices.

The findings from this latest work have now resulted in a published patent for a pressure-assisted fabrication technology for next-generation light-emitting devices and solar cells, the work of former PhD students and postdoctoral fellows Dr. Soboyejo (Dr. Kehinde Oyewole, Dr. Deborah Oyewole, and Dr. Lara Oyelade) from the African University of Science and Technology (AUST) and WPI, and Jaya Cromwell and Reisya Ichiwani from WPI.