Olga Solomeshch

Investigation of C60F36 as low-volatility p-dopant in organic optoelectronic devices

We demonstrate highly efficient small molecule organic light emitting diodes and organic solar cells based on the p-i-n-type structure using the fluorinated fullerene molecule C60F36 as p-dopant in the hole transport layer. We present synthesis, chemical analysis, and energy level investigation of the dopant as well as the conductivity of organic layers consisting of a matrix of N,N,N′,N′-tetrakis 4-methoxyphenyl-benzidine(MeO-TPD) or N,N′-[(Diphenyl-N,N′-bis)9, ?> 9,-dimethyl-fluoren-2-yl]-benzidine(BF-DPB) doped by the fullerene compound. State of the art organic p-i-n devices containing C60F36 show efficiencies comparable to devices with the commonly used p-dopant2,3,5,6-tetrafluoro-7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane (F4-TCNQ). The advantages of the fullerene based dopant are the low volatility and high thermal stability, which is beneficial for device operation under elevated temperature. These properties make C60F36 highly attractive for the usage as p-dopant in a broad spectrum of organic p-i-n device...

Small Molecule/Polymer Blend Organic Transistors with Hole Mobility Exceeding 13 cm V−1 s−1

A ternary organic semiconducting blend composed of a small-molecule, a conjugated polymer, and a molecular p-dopant is developed and used in solution-processed organic transistors with hole mobility exceeding 13 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) (see the Figure). It is shown that key to this development is the incorporation of the p-dopant and the formation of a vertically phase-separated film microstructure.

Combining ligand-induced quantum-confined stark effect with type II heterojunction bilayer structure in CdTe and CdSe nanocrystal-based solar cells.

We show that it is possible to combine several charge generation strategies in a single device structure, the performance of which benefits from all methods used. Exploiting the inherent type II heterojunction between layered structures of CdSe and CdTe colloidal quantum dots, we systematically study different ways of combining such nanocrystals of different size and surface chemistry and with different linking agents in a bilayer solar cell configuration. We demonstrate the beneficial use of two distinctly different sizes of NCs not only to improve the solar spectrum matching but also to reduce exciton binding energy, allowing their efficient dissociation at the interface. We further make use of the ligand-induced quantum-confined Stark effect in order to enhance charge generation and, hence, overall efficiency of nanocrystal-based solar cells.

Optoelectronic properties of polymer-nanocrystal composites active at near-infrared wavelengths

We report a systematic study of the optoelectronic processes occurring in composites made of near-infrared IR emitting nanocrystals and conjugated polymers. We focus on PbSe and InAs/ZnSe blended with polyphenylenevinylene-type polymers. We find that the process responsible for quenching the visible luminescence of the polymer by the nanocrystal varies depending on the nanocrystal composite. Moreover, the high 66% energy-transfer efficiency from the polymer to the PbSe nanocrystal does result in significant emission at the near IR. Our measurements suggest that the host may be doping the PbSe nanocrystal, thus making the nonradiative Auger process favorable. For InAs we find the energy levels well aligned inside the polymer band gap, making it an efficient charge trap which acts as a luminescence center. Through two-dimensional numerical modeling of the charge transport in such composite films we highlight the importance of morphology nanocrystal distribution control.

p-type doping in organic light emitting diodes based on fluorinated C60

We report on hybrid organic light emitting diodes based on spin coated PVK (poly(vinylcarbazole))/poly-TPD (poly(triphenyldiamine)) formulation electron blocking and conjugated peptide emitter layers while the hole blocking, BCP (2,9-dimethyl-4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline), layer is vacuum sublimed. The device structure is realized through the use of fluorinated C60 as a p-dopant in a cross-linked hole transporting formulation. The lowering of the turn-on voltage is demonstrated using a conjugated peptide as the emitter layer. We suggest that fluorinated C60s could play a major role as tunable dopants in organic electronics.

Mobility spatial distribution function: Comparative method for conjugated polymers/molecules

The authors report improved method for extracting mobility spatial distribution function that accounts for the finite light-absorption depth. They employ step function light excitation and use the photocurrent temporal response to extract the electrons’ mobility spatial distribution function (MDF). This directly measures the relevant electronic disorder in amorphous conjugated polymers. Comparing two different polymers shows that qualitative analysis of field effect transistor data is in good agreement with the quantitative analysis provided by the MDF concept/method. The better uniformity of the electronic properties found in green polypnenylene vinylene is a clear indication for its better performance and lifetime.

Hybrid complementary circuits based on p-channel organic and n-channel metal oxide transistors with balanced carrier mobilities of up to 10 cm2/Vs

We report the development of hybrid complementary inverters based on p-channel organic and n-channel metal oxide thin-film transistors (TFTs) both processed from solution at 30 V/V) and wide noise margins (70%). The moderate processing temperatures employed and the achieved level of device performance highlight the tremendous potential of the technology for application in the emerging sector of large-area microelectronics.

Research Update: Preserving the photoluminescence efficiency of near infrared emitting nanocrystals when embedded in a polymer matrix

Near infrared light emitting nanocrystals are known to lose efficiency when embedded in a polymer matrix. One of the factors leading to reduced efficiency is the labile nature of the ligands that may desorb off the nanocrystal surface when the nanocrystals are in the polymer solution. We show that adding trioctylphosphine to the nanocrystal-poly(methylmethacrylate) solution prior to film casting enhances the photoluminescence efficiency. The solid films’ photoluminescence quantum efficiency values are reduced by less than a factor of two in the solid form compared to the solution case. We demonstrate record efficiency values of 25% for lead sulfide nanocrystals solid films emitting at 1100 nm.

Low dark leakage current in organic planar heterojunction photodiodes

It is often suggested that the dark leakage current of organic photodiodes is due to extrinsic leakage paths that do not involve the electronic junction. By studying a series of devices, where the acceptor is kept constant (C70) and the donor material is varied, we find a direct correlation between the strength of the sub-gap signature of the charge-transfer states and the leakage current. Attributing the differences in the sub-gap absorption to the donors sub-gap states suggests that the donors side of the junction should be made longer, to push the Fermi level at V = 0 towards the acceptors LUMO, and thus, an optimized value of 800 Pacm−2 at V = −1 V is reported.

Thickness dependent charge transfer states and dark carriers density in vacuum deposited small molecule organic photocell

We have investigated the influence of the active layer thickness on the balance of the internal mechanisms affecting the efficiency of copper phthalocyanine - fullerene (C60) based vacuum deposited bulk heterojunction organic photocell. We fabricated a range of devices for which we varied the thickness of the active layer from 40 to 120 nm and assessed their performance using optical and electrical characterization techniques. As reported previously for phthalocyanine:C60, the performance of the device is highly dependent on the active layer thickness and of all the thicknesses we tried, the 40 nm thin active layer device showed the best solar cell characteristic parameters. Using the transfer matrix based optical model, which includes interference effects, we calculated the optical power absorbed in the active layers for the entire absorption band, and we found that this cannot explain the trend with thickness. Measurement of the cell quantum efficiency as a function of light intensity showed that the re...