Time-resolved spin processes in Alq(3) light-emitting diodes

Using pulsed electroluminescence detected magnetic resonance (PELDMR), we study the dynamics of spin processes in Alq(3) based light-emitting diodes. The transitions induced by magnetic resonance are found to be much faster than the space charge reaction time that is measured by looking at the electroluminescence frequency response to an ac bias voltage. This observation excludes a change in the equilibrium space charge distributions as the cause of PELDMR, in favor of a change of the electron-hole recombination rate. At low temperatures the effect of electron spin resonance on the electroluminescence changes sign and lasts longer. The postpulse electroluminescence recovery is well fitted by a biexponential function characterized by two very different time scales, which are consistent with a detailed balance for the singlet and triplet states, in conformity with the electron-hole pair model.