Combined spectroscopic characterization of electron transfer at hybrid CuPcF(16)/GaAs semiconductor interfaces

Ambipolar Charge Photogeneration and Transfer at GaAs/P3HT Heterointerfaces

Recent work on hybrid photovoltaic systems based on conjugated polymers and III-V compound semiconductors with relatively high power conversion efficiency revived fundamental questions regarding the nature of charge separation and transfer at the interface between organic and inorganic semiconductors with different degrees of delocalization. In this work, we studied photoinduced charge generation and interfacial transfer dynamics in a prototypical photovoltaic n-type GaAs (111)B and poly(3-hexyl-thiophene) (P3HT) bilayer system. Ultrafast spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations indicate the coexistence of electron and hole transfer at the GaAs/P3HT interface, leading to the generation of long-lived species and photoinduced absorption upon creation of hybrid interfacial states. This opens up new avenues for the use of low-dimensional III-V compounds (e.g., nanowires or quantum dots) in hybrid organic/inorganic photovoltaics, where advanced bandgap and density of states engineering may also be exploited as design parameters.

Pump-probe spectroscopy in organic semiconductors: monitoring fundamental processes of relevance in optoelectronics

In this review we highlight the contribution of pump-probe spectroscopy to understand elementary processes taking place in organic based optoelectronic devices. The techniques described in this article span from conventional pump-probe spectroscopy to electromodulated pump-probe and the state-of-the-art confocal pump-probe microscopy. The article is structured according to three fundamental processes (optical gain, charge photogeneration and charge transport) and the contribution of these techniques on them. The combination of these tools opens up new perspectives for assessing the role of short-lived excited states on processes lying underneath organic device operation.