Increased photo- and electroluminescence by zone annealing of spin-coated and vacuum-sublimed amorphous films producing crystalline thin films

Spin-coated and vacuum sublimed amorphous thin films (;100 nm thick! were converted into single crystalline films with a simple moving-zone-annealing technique, in which a heated metal wire generated a narrow annealed zone in the film as it is moved across the sample. This annealing resulted in both the photoluminescence and electroluminescence to increase dramatically ~by 3–4 times!, for example with Ru(bpy)3(ClO4)2 and aluminum 8-hydroxyquinoline, (Alq3), as light emitting devices. This technique is of interest in improving the behavior of highly luminescent thin film optoelectronic devices. © 2003 American Institute of Physics. @DOI: 10.1063/1.1636823#