Controlled Superstructures in vacuum-deposited Organic Semiconductors

有机半导体薄膜器件的功能在很大程度上取决于薄膜的微观结构和分子的取向。一方面，这对该领域提出了挑战，另一方面，在单个设备中结合具有非常不同功能和结构特性的材料的能力是分子系统所独有的，并且提供了迄今为止尚未充分利用的大量机会。该项目的目标是研究分子共混物的微观结构，并找到有利于分离分子、超结构和相分离结构域的方法。应用重点是分子自旋电子学和有机太阳能电池，具有相似的材料系统和表征技术，但不同的微观结构要求。博士生将能够采用一系列独特的原位和非原位表征技术来确定薄膜生长和沉积过程中的微观结构，从而将微观结构与器件性能相关联。鉴于许多有机电子器件的微观结构和器件性能密切相关，我们看到与其他PE-CDT研究项目和有机电子研究领域的许多协同效应，以及与行业合作伙伴的高度相关性。

The functionality of organic semiconductor thin film devices depends in most cases to a significant way on the microstructure of the film and the orientation of the molecules. One the one hand, this poses a challenge on the field, on the other hand, the ability to combine materials with very different functional and structural properties in a single device is unique to molecular systems and presents a wealth of opportunities that have so far not been fully exploited.The goal of this project is to investigate the microstructure of molecular blends and to find ways to obtain regimes favouring isolated molecules, superstructures and phase separated domains. The application focus is on molecular spintronics and organic solar cells, given similar material systems and characterisation techniques, but different microstructural requirements. The PhD student will be able to employ a range of unique in-situ and ex-situ characterisation techniques to determine the microstructure during thin film growth and post-deposition to correlate microstructure with device properties.Given the close connection of microstructure and device performance for many organic electronics devices, we see many synergies with other PE-CDT research projects and areas of research in organic electronics, as well as high relevance for industry partners.