Andrzej Dzwilewski

A Unifying Model for the Operation of Light-Emitting Electrochemical Cells

The application of doping in semiconductors plays a major role in the high performances achieved to date in inorganic devices. In contrast, doping has yet to make such an impact in organic electronics. One organic device that does make extensive use of doping is the light-emitting electrochemical cell (LEC), where the presence of mobile ions enables dynamic doping, which enhances carrier injection and facilitates relatively large current densities. The mechanism and effects of doping in LECs are, however, still far from being fully understood, as evidenced by the existence of two competing models that seem physically distinct: the electrochemical doping model and the electrodynamic model. Both models are supported by experimental data and numerical modeling. Here, we show that these models are essentially limits of one master model, separated by different rates of carrier injection. For ohmic nonlimited injection, a dynamic p-n junction is formed, which is absent in injection-limited devices. This unification is demonstrated by both numerical calculations and measured surface potentials as well as light emission and doping profiles in operational devices. An analytical analysis yields an upper limit for the ratio of drift and diffusion currents, having major consequences on the maximum current density through this type of device.

Photo-Induced and Resist-Free Imprint Patterning of Fullerene Materials for Use in Functional Electronics

We report a novel and potentially generic method for the efficient patterning of films of organic semiconductors and demonstrate the merit of the method on the high-solubility fullerene [6,6]-phenyl C(61)-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM). The patterning technique is notably straightforward as it requires no photoresist material and encompasses only two steps: (i) exposure of select film areas to visible laser light during which the PCBM mononer is photochemically converted into a dimeric state, and (ii) development via solvent washing after which the nonexposed portions of the PCBM film are selectively removed. Importantly, the method is highly benign in that it leaves the electronic properties of the remaining patterned material intact, which is directly evidenced by the fact that we fabricate fully functional arrays of micrometer-sized field-effect transistors with patterned PCBM as the active material.

Light emission at 5 V from a polymer device with a millimeter-sized interelectrode gap

We report the onset of electrochemical doping and subsequent visible light emission at 5V and 360K from a planar light-emitting electrochemical cell with a 1mm interelectrode gap containing poly[2-methoxy-5-(2′-ethyl-hexyloxy)-1, 4-phenylenevinylene] (MEH-PPV), poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO), and XCF3SO3 (X=K,Li) as the active material. We rationalize the unprecedented low turn-on voltage of such wide-gap light-emitting electrochemical cells by demonstrating that the active material contains a mixture of crystalline PEO+XCF3SO3 domains and amorphous MEH-PPV domains at room temperature, but that the crystalline domains have melted at 360K resulting in a significant increase in the ionic conductivity.

Facile fabrication of efficient organic CMOS circuits

Organic electronic circuits based on a combination of n- and p-type transistors (so-called CMOS circuits) are attractive, since they promise the realization of a manifold of versatile and low-cost electronic devices. Here, we report a novel photoinduced transformation method, which allows for a particularly straightforward fabrication of highly functional organic CMOS circuits. A solution-deposited single-layer film, comprising a mixture of the n-type semiconductor [6,6]-phenyl-C(61)-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) and the p-type semiconductor poly-3-hexylthiophene (P3HT) in a 3:1 mass ratio, was utilized as the common active material in an array of transistors. Selected film areas were exposed to laser light, with the result that the irradiated PCBM monomers were photochemically transformed into a low-solubility and high-mobility dimeric state. Thereafter, the entire film was developed via immersion into a developer solution, which selectively removed the nonexposed, and monomeric, PCBM component. The end result was that the transistors in the exposed film areas are n-type, as dimeric PCBM is the majority component in the active material, while the transistors in the nonexposed film areas are p-type, as P3HT is the sole remaining material. We demonstrate the merit of the method by utilizing the resulting combination of n-type and p-type transistors for the realization of CMOS inverters with a high gain of approximately 35.

Hydrogen-Driven Cage Unzipping of C60 into Nano-Graphenes

Annealing of C60 in hydrogen at temperatures above the stability limit of C–H bonds in C60Hx (500–550 °C) is found to result in direct collapse of the cage structure, evaporation of light hydrocarbons, and formation of solid mixture composed of larger hydrocarbons and few-layered graphene sheets. Only a minor part of this mixture is soluble; this was analyzed using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization MS, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and found to be a rather complex mixture of hydrocarbon molecules composed of at least tens of different compounds. The sequence of most abundant peaks observed in MS, which corresponds to C2H2 mass difference, suggests a stepwise breakup of the fullerene cage into progressively smaller molecular fragments edge-terminated by hydrogen. A simple model of hydrogen-driven C60 unzipping is proposed to explain the observed sequence of fragmentation products. The insoluble part of the product mixture consists of large planar polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, as evidenced by FTIR and Raman spectroscopy, and some larger sheets composed of few-layered graphene, as observed by transmission electron microscopy. Hydrogen annealing of C60 thin films showed a thickness-dependent results with reaction products significantly different for the thinnest films compared to bulk powders. Hydrogen annealing of C60 films with the thickness below 10 nm was found to result in formation of nanosized islands with Raman spectra very similar to the spectra of coronene oligomers and conductivity typical for graphene.

Magnetic properties of carbon phases synthesized using high-pressure high-temperature treatment

Magnetic properties of carbon phases synthesized using high-pressure high-temperature treatment.

Scanning tunnelling microscopy on organic field-effect transistors based on intrinsic pentacene

The full potential of scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) and scanning tunnelling spectroscopy for in-situ characterization of organic semiconductors has so far not been accessible. Here, we demonstrate that the underlying problem, the low intrinsic conductivity, can be overcome by working in a field-effect geometry. We present high resolution surface topographies obtained by STM on pentacene organic field-effect transistors (OFETs). By virtue of the OFET geometry, the hole accumulation layer that is present at sufficiently negative gate bias acts as back contact, collecting the tunnelling current. The presence of a true tunnelling gap is established, as is the need for the presence of an accumulation layer. The tunnelling current vs. tip bias showed rectifying behaviour, which is rationalized in terms of the tip acting as a second gate on the unipolar semiconductor. An explanatory band diagram is presented. The measurements shown indicate that intrinsic organic semiconductors can be in-situ characterized with high spatial and energetic resolution in functional devices.

Electrical Properties of Crystalline 3D-Polymeric C60 Fullerites Obtained by HPHT Treatment

The crystalline 3D-polymeric C60 with different lattice parameters and densities in the range of 2.3–2.65 g·cm−1 were obtained by high-pressure-high-temperature treatment at P=11.5–13 GPa, T=670–950K.. Their d.c. electrical conductivity investigated for the first time at temperatures 30–350K. Variable range hopping mechanism dominates in all samples up to room temperature. Within the Mott-Davis approximation an increase by a factor of 1010÷1012 was found in the density of states close to the Fermi level at T > 80 K in two samples, indicating an electronic phase transition. The temperature activated conductivity was observed in samples with densities 2.45 – 2.65 g·cm−1. The evaluated bandgap value is in the range of 0.27 – 0.54 eV.