Printing of Large‐Scale, Flexible, Long‐Term Stable Dielectric Mirrors with Suppressed Side Interferences

Abstract Dielectric mirrors are wavelength‐selective mirrors which are based on thin film interference effects. Their optical band can precisely be adjusted in width, position, and reflectance by the refractive index of the applied materials, the layers' thicknesses, and the amount of deposited layers. Nowadays, they are a well‐known light management tool for efficiency enhancement in, for example, semitransparent organic solar cells (OSCs) and light guiding in organic light‐emitting diodes (OLEDs). However, most of the dielectric mirrors are still fabricated by lab‐scale techniques such as spin‐coating or physical vapor deposition under vacuum. Large‐scale, fully printed (maximum 20 × 20 cm²) dielectric mirrors with adjustable reflectance characteristics are fabricated, using temperatures of maximum 50 °C and alcohol‐based inks. According to the moderate processing conditions they can be easily deposited not only on rigid glass substrates but also on flexible foils. They show high stability against humidity, light irradiation, and temperature, positioning themselves as good candidates for applications in OLEDs and OSCs. Eventually, by simulations and experiments it is verified that a moderate degree of variations in layer thickness and surface roughness can suppress side interference fringes, while not impacting the main transmittance minimum or the main reflection maximum, respectively.