Spin-Dependent Charge-Carrier Recombination Processes in Tris(8-Hydroxyquinolinato) Aluminum

We have studied the nature and dynamics of spin-dependent charge carrier recombination in Tris(8-hydroxyquinolinato) aluminum (Alq$_3$) films in light emitting diodes at room temperature using continuous wave and pulsed electrically detected magnetic resonance (EDMR) spectroscopy. We found that the EDMR signal is dominated by an electron-hole recombination process, and another, weaker EDMR signal whose fundamental nature was investigated. From the pulsed EDMR measurements we obtained a carrier spin relaxation time, $T_2 = 45\pm 25$ ns which is much shorter than $T_2$ in conjugated polymers, but relatively long for a molecule containing elements with high atomic number. Using multi-frequency continuous wave EDMR spectroscopy, we obtained the local hyperfine field distributions for electrons and holes, as well as their respective spin-orbit coupling induced g-factor and g-strain values.