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Volek TS, Armstrong ZT, Sowa JK, Wilson KS, Bohlmann Kunz M, Bera K, Koble M, Frontiera RR, Rossky PJ, Zanni MT, Roberts ST. Structural Disorder at the Edges of Rubrene Crystals Enhances Singlet Fission. J Phys Chem Lett 2023; 14:11497-11505. [PMID: 38088867 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.3c02845] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2023]
Abstract
Materials that undergo singlet fission are of interest for their use in light-harvesting, photocatalysis, and quantum information science, but their ability to undergo fission can be sensitive to local variations in molecular packing. Herein we employ transient absorption microscopy, molecular dynamics simulations, and electronic structure calculations to interrogate how structures found at the edges of orthorhombic rubrene crystals impact singlet fission. Within a micrometer-scale spatial region at the edges of rubrene crystals, we find that the rate of singlet fission increases nearly 4-fold. This observation is consistent with formation of a region at crystal edges with reduced order that accelerates singlet fission by disrupting the symmetry found in rubrene's orthorhombic crystal structure. Our work demonstrates that structural distortions of singlet fission materials can be used to control fission in time and in space, potentially offering a means of controlling this process in light harvesting and quantum information applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tanner S Volek
- Department of Chemistry, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, United States
- Center for Adopting Flaws as Features, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Zachary T Armstrong
- Center for Adopting Flaws as Features, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
- Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States
| | - Jakub K Sowa
- Center for Adopting Flaws as Features, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
- Department of Chemistry, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, United States
| | - Kelly S Wilson
- Department of Chemistry, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, United States
- Center for Adopting Flaws as Features, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Miriam Bohlmann Kunz
- Center for Adopting Flaws as Features, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
- Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States
| | - Kajari Bera
- Department of Chemistry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
| | - MaKenna Koble
- Department of Chemistry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
| | - Renee R Frontiera
- Department of Chemistry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
| | - Peter J Rossky
- Center for Adopting Flaws as Features, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
- Department of Chemistry, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, United States
| | - Martin T Zanni
- Center for Adopting Flaws as Features, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
- Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States
| | - Sean T Roberts
- Department of Chemistry, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, United States
- Center for Adopting Flaws as Features, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
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2
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Sawatzki-Park M, Wang SJ, Kleemann H, Leo K. Highly Ordered Small Molecule Organic Semiconductor Thin-Films Enabling Complex, High-Performance Multi-Junction Devices. Chem Rev 2023. [PMID: 37315945 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.2c00844] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Organic semiconductors have opened up many new electronic applications, enabled by properties like flexibility, low-cost manufacturing, and biocompatibility, as well as improved ecological sustainability due to low energy use during manufacturing. Most current devices are made of highly disordered thin-films, leading to poor transport properties and, ultimately, reduced device performance as well. Here, we discuss techniques to prepare highly ordered thin-films of organic semiconductors to realize fast and highly efficient devices as well as novel device types. We discuss the various methods that can be implemented to achieve such highly ordered layers compatible with standard semiconductor manufacturing processes and suitable for complex devices. A special focus is put on approaches utilizing thermal treatment of amorphous layers of small molecules to create crystalline thin-films. This technique has first been demonstrated for rubrene─an organic semiconductor with excellent transport properties─and extended to some other molecular structures. We discuss recent experiments that show that these highly ordered layers show excellent lateral and vertical mobilities and can be electrically doped to achieve high n- and p-type conductivities. With these achievements, it is possible to integrate these highly ordered layers into specialized devices, such as high-frequency diodes or completely new device principles for organics, e.g., bipolar transistors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Sawatzki-Park
- Dresden Integrated Center for Applied Photophysics and Photonic Materials (IAPP), Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden 01219, Germany
| | - Shu-Jen Wang
- Dresden Integrated Center for Applied Photophysics and Photonic Materials (IAPP), Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden 01219, Germany
| | - Hans Kleemann
- Dresden Integrated Center for Applied Photophysics and Photonic Materials (IAPP), Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden 01219, Germany
| | - Karl Leo
- Dresden Integrated Center for Applied Photophysics and Photonic Materials (IAPP), Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden 01219, Germany
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3
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Dull JT, Chen X, Johnson HM, Otani MC, Schreiber F, Clancy P, Rand BP. A comprehensive picture of roughness evolution in organic crystalline growth: the role of molecular aspect ratio. MATERIALS HORIZONS 2022; 9:2752-2761. [PMID: 36069252 DOI: 10.1039/d2mh00854h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Exploiting the capabilities of organic semiconductors for applications ranging from light-emitting diodes to photovoltaics to lasers relies on the creation of ordered, smooth layers for optimal charge carrier mobilities and exciton diffusion. This, in turn, creates a demand for organic small molecules that can form smooth thin film crystals via homoepitaxy. We have studied a set of small-molecule organic semiconductors that serve as templates for homoepitaxy. The surface roughness of these materials is measured as a function of adlayer film thickness from which the growth exponent (β) is extracted. Notably, we find that three-dimensional molecules that have low molecular aspect ratios (AR) tend to remain smooth as thickness increases (small β). This is in contrast to planar or rod-like molecules with high AR that quickly roughen (large β). Molecular dynamics simulations find that the Ehrlich-Schwöbel barrier (EES) alone is unable to fully explain this trend. We further investigated the mobility of ad-molecules on the crystalline surface to categorize their diffusion behaviors and the effects of aggregation to account for the different degrees of roughness that we observed. Our results suggest that low AR molecules have low molecular mobility and moderate EES which creates a downward funneling effect leading to smooth crystal growth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordan T Dull
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.
| | - Xiangyu Chen
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.
| | - Holly M Johnson
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.
| | - Maria Clara Otani
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.
| | - Frank Schreiber
- Institute for Applied Physics, University of Tubingen, 72076 Tubingen, Germany
| | - Paulette Clancy
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.
| | - Barry P Rand
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.
- Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
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4
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Nakayama Y, Tsuruta R, Koganezawa T. 'Molecular Beam Epitaxy' on Organic Semiconductor Single Crystals: Characterization of Well-Defined Molecular Interfaces by Synchrotron Radiation X-ray Diffraction Techniques. MATERIALS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 15:7119. [PMID: 36295203 PMCID: PMC9605552 DOI: 10.3390/ma15207119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2022] [Revised: 10/04/2022] [Accepted: 10/10/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Epitaxial growth, often termed "epitaxy", is one of the most essential techniques underpinning semiconductor electronics, because crystallinities of the materials seriously dominate operation efficiencies of the electronic devices such as power gain/consumption, response speed, heat loss, and so on. In contrast to already well-established epitaxial growth methodologies for inorganic (covalent or ionic) semiconductors, studies on inter-molecular (van der Waals) epitaxy for organic semiconductors is still in the initial stage. In the present review paper, we briefly summarize recent works on the epitaxial inter-molecular junctions built on organic semiconductor single-crystal surfaces, particularly on single crystals of pentacene and rubrene. Experimental methodologies applicable for the determination of crystal structures of such organic single-crystal-based molecular junctions are also illustrated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yasuo Nakayama
- Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, Tokyo University of Science, 2641 Yamazaki, Noda 278-8510, Japan
- Division of Colloid and Interface Science, Tokyo University of Science, Noda 278-8510, Japan
- Research Group for Advanced Energy Conversion, Tokyo University of Science, Noda 278-8510, Japan
| | - Ryohei Tsuruta
- Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba 305-8577, Japan
| | - Tomoyuki Koganezawa
- Industrial Application Division, Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (JASRI), Hyogo 679-5198, Japan
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5
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Wang SJ, Sawatzki M, Darbandy G, Talnack F, Vahland J, Malfois M, Kloes A, Mannsfeld S, Kleemann H, Leo K. Organic bipolar transistors. Nature 2022; 606:700-705. [PMID: 35732763 PMCID: PMC9217747 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04837-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2021] [Accepted: 05/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Devices made using thin-film semiconductors have attracted much interest recently owing to new application possibilities. Among materials systems suitable for thin-film electronics, organic semiconductors are of particular interest; their low cost, biocompatible carbon-based materials and deposition by simple techniques such as evaporation or printing enable organic semiconductor devices to be used for ubiquitous electronics, such as those used on or in the human body or on clothing and packages1–3. The potential of organic electronics can be leveraged only if the performance of organic transistors is improved markedly. Here we present organic bipolar transistors with outstanding device performance: a previously undescribed vertical architecture and highly crystalline organic rubrene thin films yield devices with high differential amplification (more than 100) and superior high-frequency performance over conventional devices. These bipolar transistors also give insight into the minority carrier diffusion length—a key parameter in organic semiconductors. Our results open the door to new device concepts of high-performance organic electronics with ever faster switching speeds. An organic bipolar junction transistor composed of highly crystalline rubrene thin films has a device architecture that could be used in organic electronics with greatly improved high-frequency performance
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Affiliation(s)
- Shu-Jen Wang
- Dresden Integrated Center for Applied Physics and Photonic Materials (IAPP), Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Michael Sawatzki
- Dresden Integrated Center for Applied Physics and Photonic Materials (IAPP), Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Ghader Darbandy
- NanoP, Technische Hochschule Mittelhessen, University of Applied Science, Gießen, Germany
| | - Felix Talnack
- Center for Advancing Electronics Dresden (cfaed), Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Jörn Vahland
- Dresden Integrated Center for Applied Physics and Photonic Materials (IAPP), Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | | | - Alexander Kloes
- NanoP, Technische Hochschule Mittelhessen, University of Applied Science, Gießen, Germany
| | - Stefan Mannsfeld
- Center for Advancing Electronics Dresden (cfaed), Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Hans Kleemann
- Dresden Integrated Center for Applied Physics and Photonic Materials (IAPP), Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Karl Leo
- Dresden Integrated Center for Applied Physics and Photonic Materials (IAPP), Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany. .,Center for Advancing Electronics Dresden (cfaed), Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
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6
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Yoon Y, Lee J, Lee S, Kim S, Choi HC. Ultrasmooth Organic Films Via Efficient Aggregation Suppression by a Low-Vacuum Physical Vapor Deposition. MATERIALS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2021; 14:7247. [PMID: 34885402 PMCID: PMC8658267 DOI: 10.3390/ma14237247] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2021] [Revised: 11/16/2021] [Accepted: 11/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Organic thin films with smooth surfaces are mandated for high-performance organic electronic devices. Abrupt nucleation and aggregation during film formation are two main factors that forbid smooth surfaces. Here, we report a simple fast cooling (FC) adapted physical vapor deposition (FCPVD) method to produce ultrasmooth organic thin films through effectively suppressing the aggregation of adsorbed molecules. We have found that thermal energy control is essential for the spread of molecules on a substrate by diffusion and it prohibits the unwanted nucleation of adsorbed molecules. FCPVD is employed for cooling the horizontal tube-type organic vapor deposition setup to effectively remove thermal energy applied to adsorbed molecules on a substrate. The organic thin films prepared using the FCPVD method have remarkably ultrasmooth surfaces with less than 0.4 nm root mean square (RMS) roughness on various substrates, even in a low vacuum, which is highly comparable to the ones prepared using conventional high-vacuum deposition methods. Our results provide a deeper understanding of the role of thermal energy employed to substrates during organic film growth using the PVD process and pave the way for cost-effective and high-performance organic devices.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Hee Cheul Choi
- Department of Chemistry, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), Pohang 37673, Korea; (Y.Y.); (J.L.); (S.L.); (S.K.)
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7
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Empting E, Klopotek M, Hinderhofer A, Schreiber F, Oettel M. Lattice gas study of thin-film growth scenarios and transitions between them: Role of substrate. Phys Rev E 2021; 103:023302. [PMID: 33736115 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.103.023302] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2020] [Accepted: 01/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Thin-film growth is investigated in two types of lattice gas models where substrate and film particles are different, expressed by unequal interaction energy parameters. The first is of solid-on-solid type, whereas the second additionally incorporates desorption, diffusion in the gas phase above the film and readsorption at the film (appropriate for growth in colloidal systems). In both models, the difference between particle-substrate and particle-particle interactions plays a central role for the evolution of the film morphology at intermediate times. The models exhibit a dynamic layering transition which occurs at generally lower substrate attraction strengths than the equilibrium layering transition. A second, flattening transition is found where initial island growth transforms to layer-by-layer growth at intermediate deposition times. Combined with the known roughening behavior in such models for very large deposition times, we present four global growth scenarios, charting out the possible types of roughness evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Empting
- Institut für Angewandte Physik, Universität Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - M Klopotek
- Institut für Angewandte Physik, Universität Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - A Hinderhofer
- Institut für Angewandte Physik, Universität Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - F Schreiber
- Institut für Angewandte Physik, Universität Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - M Oettel
- Institut für Angewandte Physik, Universität Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
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8
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Morphology and transport characterization of solution-processed rubrene thin films on polymer-modified substrates. Sci Rep 2020; 10:12183. [PMID: 32699246 PMCID: PMC7376014 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-68293-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2019] [Accepted: 06/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
In this report, the morpho-structural peculiarities and the crystallization mechanisms in solution-processed, solvent vapor annealed (SVA) thin films of rubrene (5,6,11,12-tetraphenylnaphthacene) on different substrates were investigated. The high-quality rubrene crystal films with a triclinic crystal structure were successfully prepared on the FTO substrates (glass slide coated with fluorine-tin-oxide) modified by PLA (polylactic acid) for the first time. The area coverage of rubrene crystal and the sizes of rubrene dendritic crystals increased with increasing thickness of PLA film and concentration of rubrene solution. For rubrene molecules, FTO wafers with rough surface provided the possibility of heterogeneous nucleation. During the SVA process, there were two kinds of forces acting on the diffusion of rubrene molecules: one force was provided by the residual chloroform solvent, which was perpendicular to the substrate, and the other force was provided by gaseous dichloromethane, which was parallel to the substrate. The synergy of these two forces was proposed to explain the nucleation and the crystallization processes of rubrene films. The higher nucleus of PLA/rubrene dendrites and the layer-by-layer stacking of needle-shaped nanocrystalline PLA/rubrene were important for exploring their kinetic formation process.
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9
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Yang S, Bier I, Wen W, Zhan J, Moayedpour S, Marom N. Ogre: A Python package for molecular crystal surface generation with applications to surface energy and crystal habit prediction. J Chem Phys 2020; 152:244122. [PMID: 32610993 DOI: 10.1063/5.0010615] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
We present Ogre, an open-source code for generating surface slab models from bulk molecular crystal structures. Ogre is written in Python and interfaces with the FHI-aims code to calculate surface energies at the level of density functional theory (DFT). The input of Ogre is the geometry of the bulk molecular crystal. The surface is cleaved from the bulk structure with the molecules on the surface kept intact. A slab model is constructed according to the user specifications for the number of molecular layers and the length of the vacuum region. Ogre automatically identifies all symmetrically unique surfaces for the user-specified Miller indices and detects all possible surface terminations. Ogre includes utilities to analyze the surface energy convergence and Wulff shape of the molecular crystal. We present the application of Ogre to three representative molecular crystals: the pharmaceutical aspirin, the organic semiconductor tetracene, and the energetic material HMX. The equilibrium crystal shapes predicted by Ogre are in agreement with experimentally grown crystals, demonstrating that DFT produces satisfactory predictions of the crystal habit for diverse classes of molecular crystals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuyang Yang
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA
| | - Imanuel Bier
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA
| | - Wen Wen
- Department of Chemistry, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA
| | - Jiawei Zhan
- School of Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, China
| | - Saeed Moayedpour
- Department of Chemistry, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA
| | - Noa Marom
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA
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10
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Abbasi K, Wang D, Fusella MA, Rand BP, Avishai A. Methods for Conducting Electron Backscattered Diffraction (EBSD) on Polycrystalline Organic Molecular Thin Films. MICROSCOPY AND MICROANALYSIS : THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF MICROSCOPY SOCIETY OF AMERICA, MICROBEAM ANALYSIS SOCIETY, MICROSCOPICAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 2018; 24:420-423. [PMID: 29925461 DOI: 10.1017/s1431927618000442] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) is a technique regularly used to obtain crystallographic information from inorganic samples. When EBSD is acquired simultaneously with emitting diodes data, a sample can be thoroughly characterized both structurally and compositionally. For organic materials, coherent Kikuchi patterns do form when the electron beam interacts with crystalline material. However, such patterns tend to be weak due to the low average atomic number of organic materials. This is compounded by the fact that the patterns fade quickly and disappear completely once a critical electron dose is exceeded, inhibiting successful collection of EBSD maps from them. In this study, a new approach is presented that allows successful collection of EBSD maps from organic materials, here the extreme example of a hydrocarbon organic molecular thin film, and opens new avenues of characterization for crystalline organic materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin Abbasi
- 1Swagelok Center for Surface Analysis of Materials,Case School of Engineering,Case Western Reserve University,Cleveland,OH 44106,USA
| | - Danqi Wang
- 1Swagelok Center for Surface Analysis of Materials,Case School of Engineering,Case Western Reserve University,Cleveland,OH 44106,USA
| | - Michael A Fusella
- 2Department of Electrical Engineering,Princeton University,Princeton,NJ 08544,USA
| | - Barry P Rand
- 2Department of Electrical Engineering,Princeton University,Princeton,NJ 08544,USA
| | - Amir Avishai
- 1Swagelok Center for Surface Analysis of Materials,Case School of Engineering,Case Western Reserve University,Cleveland,OH 44106,USA
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11
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Zhang L, Pasthukova N, Yao Y, Zhong X, Pavlica E, Bratina G, Orgiu E, Samorì P. Self-Suspended Nanomesh Scaffold for Ultrafast Flexible Photodetectors Based on Organic Semiconducting Crystals. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2018; 30:e1801181. [PMID: 29782659 DOI: 10.1002/adma.201801181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2018] [Revised: 03/22/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Self-standing nanostructures are of fundamental interest in materials science and nanoscience and are widely used in (opto-)electronic and photonic devices as well as in micro-electromechanical systems. To date, large-area and self-standing nanoelectrode arrays assembled on flexible substrates have not been reported. Here the fabrication of a hollow nanomesh scaffold on glass and plastic substrates with a large surface area over 1 mm2 and ultralow leakage current density (≈1-10 pA mm-2 @ 2 V) across the empty scaffold is demonstrated. Thanks to the continuous sub-micrometer space formed in between the nanomesh and the bottom electrode, highly crystalline and dendritic domains of 6,13-bis(triisopropylsilylethinyl)pentacene growing within the hollow cavity can be observed. The high degree of order at the supramolecular level leads to efficient charge and exciton transport; the photovoltaic detector supported on flexible polyethylene terephthalate substrates exhibits an ultrafast photoresponse time as short as 8 ns and a signal-to-noise ratio approaching 105 . Such a hollow scaffold holds great potential as a novel device architecture toward flexible (opto-)electronic applications based on self-assembled micro/nanocrystals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Zhang
- University of Strasbourg, CNRS, ISIS UMR 7006, 8 Allée Gaspard Monge, F-67000, Strasbourg, France
| | - Nadiia Pasthukova
- Laboratory of Organic Matter Physics, University of Nova Gorica, Vipavska 11c, SI-5270, Ajdovščina, Slovenia
| | - Yifan Yao
- University of Strasbourg, CNRS, ISIS UMR 7006, 8 Allée Gaspard Monge, F-67000, Strasbourg, France
| | - Xiaolan Zhong
- University of Strasbourg, CNRS, ISIS UMR 7006, 8 Allée Gaspard Monge, F-67000, Strasbourg, France
| | - Egon Pavlica
- Laboratory of Organic Matter Physics, University of Nova Gorica, Vipavska 11c, SI-5270, Ajdovščina, Slovenia
| | - Gvido Bratina
- Laboratory of Organic Matter Physics, University of Nova Gorica, Vipavska 11c, SI-5270, Ajdovščina, Slovenia
| | - Emanuele Orgiu
- University of Strasbourg, CNRS, ISIS UMR 7006, 8 Allée Gaspard Monge, F-67000, Strasbourg, France
| | - Paolo Samorì
- University of Strasbourg, CNRS, ISIS UMR 7006, 8 Allée Gaspard Monge, F-67000, Strasbourg, France
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12
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McAnally RE, Bender JA, Estergreen L, Haiges R, Bradforth SE, Dawlaty JM, Roberts ST, Rury AS. Defects Cause Subgap Luminescence from a Crystalline Tetracene Derivative. J Phys Chem Lett 2017; 8:5993-6001. [PMID: 29185754 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.7b02718] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
We use steady-state and ultrafast nonlinear spectroscopies in combination with density functional theory calculations to explain light emission below the optical gap energy (Eo) of crystalline samples of 5,12-diphenyl tetracene (DPT). In particular, the properties of vibrational coherences imprinted on a probe pulse transmitted through a DPT single crystal indicate discrete electronic transitions below Eo of this organic semiconductor. Analysis of coherence spectra leads us to propose structural defect states give rise to these discrete transitions and subgap light emission. We use the polarization dependence of vibrational coherence spectra to tentatively assign these defects in our DPT samples. Our results provide fundamental insights into the properties of midgap states in organic materials important for their application in next-generation photonics and optoelectronics technologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Eric McAnally
- Department of Chemistry, University of Southern California , Los Angeles, California 90089, United States
| | - Jon A Bender
- Department of Chemistry, University of Texas at Austin , Austin, Texas 78712, United States
| | - Laura Estergreen
- Department of Chemistry, University of Southern California , Los Angeles, California 90089, United States
| | - Ralf Haiges
- Department of Chemistry, University of Southern California , Los Angeles, California 90089, United States
| | - Stephen E Bradforth
- Department of Chemistry, University of Southern California , Los Angeles, California 90089, United States
| | - Jahan M Dawlaty
- Department of Chemistry, University of Southern California , Los Angeles, California 90089, United States
| | - Sean T Roberts
- Department of Chemistry, University of Texas at Austin , Austin, Texas 78712, United States
| | - Aaron S Rury
- Department of Chemistry, Wayne State University , Detroit, Michigan 48202, United States
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