Photoluminescence from a soluble semiconducting polymer in waveguide and microcavity configurations

The optical properties of thin films of PVK-Alq(3) are examined by means of spectrophotometry in the UV-VIS-NIR. Photoluminescence (PL) measurements indicate that the polymer films deposited on glass substrates behave as asymmetrical planar waveguides for the emitted light. The waveguided luminescence shrinks and change color with respect to the non-waveguided emission. Stronger changes in the luminescence features are observed using a microcavity configuration, obtained by spin-coating PVK-Alq(3) on an inorganic Distributed Bragg Reflector (DBR) and by vacuum-depositing a thick aluminum layer on the top of the polymer film.