High-speed organic light-emitting diodes based on dinaphthylperylene achieving 4-Gbps communication

Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) offer advantages for device-integrated transmitters for optical wireless communication because of their simple fabrication, mechanical flexibility, and integration of multiple color devices on a single substrate. However, they are generally considered to be slow due to low charge mobilities. Here, we show they can be made faster by suitable material selection and device design to achieve record-fast transmission by an OLED. We achieve a data rate of 2.9 Gbps in a 10-m data link at a bit error ratio (BER) of 5.54 × 10⁻³, corresponding to a coded data transmission rate of 2.7 Gbps after accounting for 7.15% overhead. This performance is comparable to the previous record for single-OLED transmitters but over a link 40 times longer. In addition, for a 2-m link, we obtain a record data rate of 4.0 Gbps at a BER of 5.54 × 10⁻³ (coded data rate of 3.7 Gbps). Our results show that the operational stability of OLEDs is important for high-speed operation. Thus, with synergetic developments in the stability of OLEDs for displays and lighting industries, OLEDs will become increasingly faster, expanding their applications for spectroscopy, communications, and sensing.