Chih-I Wu

Surface modification of indium tin oxide by plasma treatment: An effective method to improve the efficiency, brightness, and reliability of organic light emitting devices

We demonstrate the improvement of an indium tin oxide anode contact to an organic light emitting device via oxygen plasma treatment. Enhanced hole-injection efficiency improves dramatically the performance of single-layer doped-polymer devices: the drive voltage drops from >20 to <10 V, the external electroluminescence quantum efficiency (backside emission only) increases by a factor of 4 (from 0.28% to 1%), a much higher drive current can be applied to achieve a much higher brightness (maximum brightness ∼10,000 cd/m2 at 1000 mA/cm2), and the forward-to-reverse bias rectification ratio increases by orders of magnitude (from 102 to 106–107). The lifetime of the device is also enhanced by two orders of magnitude.

Monolayer MoSe2 Grown by Chemical Vapor Deposition for Fast Photodetection

Monolayer molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) has become a promising building block in optoelectronics for its high photosensitivity. However, sulfur vacancies and other defects significantly affect the electrical and optoelectronic properties of monolayer MoS2 devices. Here, highly crystalline molybdenum diselenide (MoSe2) monolayers have been successfully synthesized by the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. Low-temperature photoluminescence comparison for MoS2 and MoSe2 monolayers reveals that the MoSe2 monolayer shows a much weaker bound exciton peak; hence, the phototransistor based on MoSe2 presents a much faster response time (<25 ms) than the corresponding 30 s for the CVD MoS2 monolayer at room temperature in ambient conditions. The images obtained from transmission electron microscopy indicate that the MoSe exhibits fewer defects than MoS2. This work provides the fundamental understanding for the differences in optoelectronic behaviors between MoSe2 and MoS2 and is useful for guiding future designs in 2D material-based optoelectronic devices.

Energy level offset at organic semiconductor heterojunctions

We present an investigation via ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy of the electronic structure of three organic-organic heterojunctions formed between the standard electron-transport emissive material tris(8-hydroxy-quinoline)aluminum (Alq3) and two hole-transport materials, i.e., 3,4,9,10 perylenetetracarboxylic dianhydride (PTCDA), and N,N′-diphenyl-N,N′-bis(l-naphthyl)-1-1′biphenyl-4,4″diamine (α-NPD). We measure directly the energy offsets between highest occupied molecular orbitals during the formation of the interfaces. We show that the relative positions of the highest occupied and lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals across the Alq3/PTCDA and Alq3/α-NPD interfaces are qualitatively different and explain, in part, the difference in the performance of electroluminescent devices based on these heterojunctions. We demonstrate the existence of charge transfer-induced dipoles which shift the molecular levels of one organic with respect to the other and invalidate the usual assumption of vacuum level...

Electronic structures and electron-injection mechanisms of cesium-carbonate-incorporated cathode structures for organic light-emitting devices

In this letter, we investigate electronic structures and electron-injection mechanisms of the effective cathode structures for organic light-emitting devices incorporating cesium carbonate (Cs2CO3), either deposited as an individual thin injection layer or doped into the organic electron-transport layers. The electronic structures and the interface chemistry studied by ultraviolet and x-ray photoemission spectroscopy show that the enhanced electron injection is associated with strong n-doping effects and increase of electron concentrations in the electron-transport layer induced by Cs2CO3. Since such a reaction occurs without the presence of metals, cathode structures incorporating Cs2CO3 may be applied to a wide range of electrode materials.

13% Efficiency Hybrid Organic/Silicon-Nanowire Heterojunction Solar Cell via Interface Engineering

Interface carrier recombination currently hinders the performance of hybrid organic-silicon heterojunction solar cells for high-efficiency low-cost photovoltaics. Here, we introduce an intermediate 1,1-bis[(di-4-tolylamino)phenyl]cyclohexane (TAPC) layer into hybrid heterojunction solar cells based on silicon nanowires (SiNWs) and conjugate polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxy-thiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS). The highest power conversion efficiency reaches a record 13.01%, which is largely ascribed to the modified organic surface morphology and suppressed saturation current that boost the open-circuit voltage and fill factor. We show that the insertion of TAPC increases the minority carrier lifetime because of an energy offset at the heterojunction interface. Furthermore, X-ray photoemission spectroscopy reveals that TAPC can effectively block the strong oxidation reaction occurring between PEDOT:PSS and silicon, which improves the device characteristics and assurances for reliability. These learnings point toward future directions for versatile interface engineering techniques for the attainment of highly efficient hybrid photovoltaics.

Highly Efficient Visible Light Photocatalytic Reduction of CO2 to Hydrocarbon Fuels by Cu-Nanoparticle Decorated Graphene Oxide

The production of renewable solar fuel through CO2 photoreduction, namely artificial photosynthesis, has gained tremendous attention in recent times due to the limited availability of fossil-fuel resources and global climate change caused by rising anthropogenic CO2 in the atmosphere. In this study, graphene oxide (GO) decorated with copper nanoparticles (Cu-NPs), hereafter referred to as Cu/GO, has been used to enhance photocatalytic CO2 reduction under visible-light. A rapid one-pot microwave process was used to prepare the Cu/GO hybrids with various Cu contents. The attributes of metallic copper nanoparticles (∼4-5 nm in size) in the GO hybrid are shown to significantly enhance the photocatalytic activity of GO, primarily through the suppression of electron-hole pair recombination, further reduction of GOs bandgap, and modification of its work function. X-ray photoemission spectroscopy studies indicate a charge transfer from GO to Cu. A strong interaction is observed between the metal content of the Cu/GO hybrids and the rates of formation and selectivity of the products. A factor of greater than 60 times enhancement in CO2 to fuel catalytic efficiency has been demonstrated using Cu/GO-2 (10 wt % Cu) compared with that using pristine GO.

Electron-hole interaction energy in the organic molecular semiconductor PTCDA

Abstract We have used photoemission, inverse photoemission and electron energy loss spectroscopies to determine the on-site attractive electron-hole interaction energy E e−h in the organic molecular semiconductor 3,4,9,10-perylenetetracarboxylic dianhydride (PTCDA). E e−h is found to be 1.0 ± 0.2 eV, larger than the PTCDA band width estimated to be smaller than 0.4 eV. Correlation effects in PTCDA are therefore important, consistent with the molecular nature of the solid. They are smaller than in purely molecular solids like C 60 due to the strong π-electron coupling between overlapping molecules in the molecular stacks.

Probing surface band bending of surface-engineered metal oxide nanowires.

We in situ probed the surface band bending (SBB) by ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) in conjunction with field-effect transistor measurements on the incompletely depleted ZnO nanowires (NWs). The diameter range of the NWs is ca. 150-350 nm. Several surface treatments (i.e., heat treatments and Au nanoparticle (NP) decoration) were conducted to assess the impact of the oxygen adsorbates on the SBB. A 100 °C heat treatment leads to the decrease of the SBB to 0.74 ± 0.15 eV with 29.9 ± 3.0 nm width, which is attributed to the removal of most adsorbed oxygen molecules from the ZnO NW surfaces. The SBB of the oxygen-adsorbed ZnO NWs is measured to be 1.53 ± 0.15 eV with 43.2 ± 2.0 nm width. The attachment of Au NPs to the NW surface causes unusually high SBB (2.34 ± 0.15 eV with the wide width of 53.3 ± 1.6 nm) by creating open-circuit nano-Schottky junctions and catalytically enhancing the formation of the charge O(2) adsorbates. These surface-related phenomena should be generic to all metal oxide nanostructures. Our study is greatly beneficial for the NW-based device design of sensor and optoelectronic applications via surface engineering.

GaN (0001)-(1×1) surfaces: Composition and electronic properties

We use low energy electron diffraction, Auger electron spectroscopy, and ultraviolet and x-ray photoemission spectroscopy to study the surface structure, stoichiometry, and electronic properties of n- and p-type GaN (0001) grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. Ordered (1×1) surfaces with nearly stoichiometric composition are prepared by nitrogen sputtering and annealing. The band bending is found to be 0.75±0.1 eV up and 0.75±0.1 eV down for n- and p-type samples, respectively. The work function, electron affinity, and Ga 3d core level binding energy are also determined.

Investigation of the chemistry and electronic properties of metal/gallium nitride interfaces

We present a systematic investigation of the formation of Schottky barriers between n- and p-GaN(0001)−(1×1) grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition and a series of high and low work function metals (Mg, Al, Ti, Au, and Pt). Al, Ti, and Mg react at room temperature with nitrogen, whereas Au and Pt form abrupt, unreacted interfaces. We find that the Fermi level movement on both n- and p-GaN is consistent with variations in metal work functions, but limited by surface or interface states. Upon annealing, the incorporation of Mg increases the density of acceptors as seen on both n- and p-GaN. In spite of similar work functions and chemical reaction with nitrogen, Ti and Al show drastic differences in Schottky barrier formation due to differences in the nature of the products of reaction. AlN is a wide band gap semiconductor whereas TiN is a metallic compound.