Interfacial domain structure of polycrystalline semiconducting polymer films

拟议研究的目的是使用尖端的基于同步加速器的技术来回答有关实际有机电子设备操作的基本问题。基于有机（碳基）半导体的电子设备刚刚开始进入市场，使新一代低成本、柔性电子显示器和设备成为可能。与硅等传统无机半导体材料不同，有机半导体具有高度复杂且经常无序的薄膜结构。因此，为了提高我们对这些装置的操作的理解，我们需要充分表征这些薄膜的结构。基于同步加速器的显微镜是非常适合这项任务的强大工具，它允许以亚微米分辨率探测材料的体积和表面结构。此外，使用能量较低的软x射线，其能量与碳基材料中的分子共振相匹配，可以提取额外的结构和化学信息。这项研究的结果将有助于实现下一代有机半导体材料和器件。

The objective of the proposed research is to use cutting-edge synchrotron-based techniques to answer fundamental questions regarding the operation of real-world organic electronic devices. Electronic devices based on organic (carbon-based) semiconductors are just beginning to enter the market place enabling a new generation of low-cost, flexible electronic displays and devices. Unlike traditional inorganic semiconductor materials such as Silicon, organic semiconductors have a highly complicated and often disordered film structure. Therefore to improve our understanding of the operation of these devices we need to fully characterise the structure of these films. Synchrotron-based microscopes are powerful tools that are ideally suited to this task that allow for the bulk and surface structure of materials to be probed with sub-micrometre resolution. Additionally, the use of lower energy soft X-rays with energies that match the molecular resonances in carbon-based materials allows for additional structural and chemical information to be extracted. The results of this research will help to enable next generation organic semiconductor materials and devices.