Light emission from semiconducting polymers: Light-emitting diodes, light-emitting electrochemical cells, lasers and white light for the future

High performance photonic devices fabricated from conjugated polymers have been demonstrated, including diodes, light emitting diodes, photodiodes, field-effect transistors, polymer grid triodes, light emitting electrochemical cells, optocouplers and lasers, i.e. essentially all the categories which characterize the field of photonic devices. In many cases, semiconducting polymer-based devices have reached performance levels comparable to their inorganic counterparts. This short review focuses on recent progress in the area of light emission from semiconducting polymers. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.