Influence of an external magnetic field on the singlet and triplet emissions of tris-(8-hydroxyquinoline)aluminum(III) (Alq3)

The effect of a magnetic field on the triplet emission in Alq3 was investigated by measuring the delayed electroluminescence (EL) and the phosphorescence in Alq3-based organic light-emitting diodes and amorphous films, respectively. The change of the delayed EL intensity in amorphous Alq3 is explained by Merrifield’s theory of mutual triplet-triplet annihilation known for molecular crystals. The intensity of the instantaneous EL shows an increase of up to +4.8% depending on the magnetic-field strength, which is due to the influence of the magnetic-field on the charge balance factor and thus on the injection of minority charge carriers.