Pascal Kordt

Modeling of Spatially Correlated Energetic Disorder in Organic Semiconductors

Mesoscale modeling of organic semiconductors relies on solving an appropriately parametrized master equation. Essential ingredients of the parametrization are site energies (driving forces), which enter the charge transfer rate between pairs of neighboring molecules. Site energies are often Gaussian-distributed and are spatially correlated. Here, we propose an algorithm that generates these energies with a given Gaussian distribution and spatial correlation function. The method is tested on an amorphous organic semiconductor, DPBIC, illustrating that the accurate description of correlations is essential for the quantitative modeling of charge transport in amorphous mesophases.

Parametrization of Extended Gaussian Disorder Models from Microscopic Charge Transport Simulations.

Simulations of organic semiconducting devices using drift-diffusion equations are vital for the understanding of their functionality as well as for the optimization of their performance. Input parameters for these equations are usually determined from experiments and do not provide a direct link to the chemical structures and material morphology. Here we demonstrate how such a parametrization can be performed by using atomic-scale (microscopic) simulations. To do this, a stochastic network model, parametrized on atomistic simulations, is used to tabulate charge mobility in a wide density range. After accounting for finite-size effects at small charge densities, the data is fitted to the uncorrelated and correlated extended Gaussian disorder models. Surprisingly, the uncorrelated model reproduces the results of microscopic simulations better than the correlated one, compensating for spatial correlations present in a microscopic system by a large lattice constant. The proposed method retains the link to the material morphology and the underlying chemistry and can be used to formulate structure-property relationships or optimize devices prior to compound synthesis.

Finite-size scaling of charge carrier mobility in disordered organic semiconductors

Simulations of charge transport in amorphous semiconductors are often performed in microscopically sized systems. As a result, charge carrier mobilities become system-size dependent. We propose a simple method for extrapolating a macroscopic, nondispersive mobility from the system-size dependence of a microscopic one. The method is validated against a temperature-based extrapolation [Phys. Rev. B 82, 193202 (2010)]. In addition, we provide an analytic estimate of system sizes required to perform nondispersive charge transport simulations in systems with finite charge carrier density, derived from a truncated Gaussian distribution. This estimate is not limited to lattice models or specific rate expressions.

Molecular scale simulation of hole mobility and current densities in amorphous tridecane

The hole mobility of amorphous tridecane (a model of amorphous polyethylene) is simulated using a parameter-free approach which combines density functional theory, molecular dynamics and kinetic Monte Carlo methods. We observe large variations of the current density in the samples, typical to materials with large energetic disorder. The obtained mobility values are of the same order of magnitude as the highest experimentally reported values. By introducing carbonyl groups, we assess the effect of material oxidation and find that the mobility is reduced by an order of magnitude already at moderate concentrations of these groups.

Parameter-free continuous drift-diffusion models of amorphous organic semiconductors.

Continuous drift-diffusion models are routinely used to optimize organic semiconducting devices. Material properties are incorporated into these models via dependencies of diffusion constants, mobilities, and injection barriers on temperature, charge density, and external field. The respective expressions are often provided by the generic Gaussian disorder models, parametrized on experimental data. We show that this approach is limited by the fixed range of applicability of analytic expressions as well as approximations inherent to lattice models. To overcome these limitations we propose a scheme which first tabulates simulation results performed on small-scale off-lattice models, corrects for finite size effects, and then uses the tabulated mobility values to solve the drift-diffusion equations. The scheme is tested on DPBIC, a state of the art hole conductor for organic light emitting diodes. We find a good agreement between simulated and experimentally measured current-voltage characteristics for different film thicknesses and temperatures.

Design rules for organic D-A heterojunctions: pathway for charge splitting(Conference Presentation)

Organic solar cells rely on the conversion of a Frenkel exciton into free charges via a charge transfer state formed on a molecular donor-acceptor pair. These charge transfer states are strongly bound by Coulomb interactions, and yet efficiently converted into charge-separated states. A microscopic understanding of this process, though crucial to the functionality of any solar cell, has not yet been achieved. Here we show how long-range molecular order and interfacial mixing generate homogeneous electrostatic forces that can drive charge separation and prevent minority-carrier trapping across a donor-acceptor interphase. Comparing a variety of small-molecule donor-fullerene combinations, we illustrate how tuning of molecular orientation and interfacial mixing leads to a tradeoff between photovoltaic gap and charge-splitting and detrapping forces, with consequences for the design of efficient photovoltaic devices.

Modeling of organic light emitting diodes: from molecular to device properties(Conference Presentation)

We will review the progress in modeling of charge transport in disordered organic semiconductors on various length-scales, from atomistic to macroscopic. This includes evaluation of charge transfer rates from first principles, parametrization of coarse-grained lattice and off-lattice models, and solving the master and drift-diffusion equations. Special attention is paid to linking the length-scales and improving the efficiency of the methods. All techniques will be illustrated on an amorphous organic semiconductor, DPBIC, a hole conductor and electron blocker used in state of the art organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs). The outlined multiscale scheme can be used to predict OLED properties without fitting parameters, starting from chemical structures of compounds.

Modeling of organic light emitting diodes: From molecular to device properties (Presentation Recording)

We review the progress in modeling of charge transport in disordered organic semiconductors on various length-scales, from atomistic to macroscopic. This includes evaluation of charge transfer rates from first principles, parametrization of coarse-grained lattice and off-lattice models, and solving the master and drift-diffusion equations. Special attention is paid to linking the length-scales and improving the efficiency of the methods. All techniques are illustrated on an amorphous organic semiconductor, DPBIC, a hole conductor and electron blocker used in state of the art organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs). The outlined multiscale scheme can be used to predict OLED properties without fitting parameters, starting from chemical structures of compounds. Reference: Advanced Functional Materials, 2015, doi: 10.1002/adfm.201403004