Advanced Organic Optoelectronic Materials and Devices
Lead Research Organisation:
University of St Andrews
Department Name: Physics and Astronomy
Abstract
The importance of light cannot be overstated: it allows us to see the beauty of the world around us, and supplies the energy to our planet that supports all life. It is used in countless ways in our everyday lives - to display information on computer screens or televisions, to read and write compact discs, and to carry telephone calls and internet data along optical fibres. Optoelectronics involves the study of materials and devices using light in combination with electricity. The purpose of this application is to develop a new generation of optoelectronic materials and devices. Currently most optoelectronic materials are rigid, brittle inorganic materials. This proposal will instead focus on plastic-like organic materials which can be readily dissolved and deposited in simple ways, such as by ink jet printing, to make transistors, light-emitting diodes and lasers. Remarkable progress has been made in developing these materials for display applications with commercial products available, and flat flexible screens very close.The development of these displays has led to major improvements in materials and our understanding of them, so that there are now many new opportunities and application areas. As a senior fellow I would be freed from a heavy teaching and administration load to pursue the most exciting of these opportunities. The work I would undertake can be divided into three main areas. The first is advanced materials, and will involve the development of snowflake shaped molecules called dendrimers. These materials have been extremely successful for display applications, and now have great potential for applications in solar cells, digital cameras, lasers and optical amplifiers. The second major area of research involves the development of advanced lasers and optical amplifiers using organic materials, and exploration of using these devices to allow one light pulse to switch another. These devices could be used in communication systems and would be compatible with plastic optical fibre. The last major area I plan to explore is medical applications of the materials. In particular light is used in the treatment of a large number of diseases including skin cancer, which is the most common cancer. In collaboration with the Photobiology Unit at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee, I will explore using organic semiconductors to give a new and much more convenient way of treating skin cancer.
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
Ifor Samuel (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Attili SK
(2009)
An open pilot study of ambulatory photodynamic therapy using a wearable low-irradiance organic light-emitting diode light source in the treatment of nonmelanoma skin cancer.
in The British journal of dermatology
Behrends J
(2010)
Bipolaron formation in organic solar cells observed by pulsed electrically detected magnetic resonance.
in Physical review letters
Gunning J
(2010)
The development of poly(dendrimer)s for advanced processing
in Polymer Chemistry
Lo S
(2009)
High-Triplet-Energy Dendrons: Enhancing the Luminescence of Deep Blue Phosphorescent Iridium(III) Complexes
in Journal of the American Chemical Society
Mica N
(2018)
Electron mobility of non-fullerene acceptors using a time of flight method
in Organic Electronics
Namdas EB
(2009)
Phosphorescent light-emitting transistors: harvesting triplet excitons.
in Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)
Pandey AK
(2010)
Photo-rechargeable battery effect in first generation cationic-cyanine dendrimers.
in Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)
Ribierre JC
(2008)
Triplet exciton diffusion and phosphorescence quenching in iridium(III)-centered dendrimers.
in Physical review letters
Samuel I
(2009)
How to recognize lasing
in Nature Photonics
Shaw P
(2008)
Exciton Diffusion Measurements in Poly(3-hexylthiophene)
in Advanced Materials
Description | By enabling me to focus solely on research, the fellowship enabled me to pursue many challenging and important research problems, and publish many refereed publications. Major progress was made in understanding and improving organic semiconductor materials and devices. In the field of light-emitting dendrimers I worked with Prof. Burn on the very challenging problem of deep-blue phosphorescence, which is important for displays and lighting. The possibility of using dendrimers to make host-free organic LEDs was very helpful, and by tailoring the dendron structure, guided by photophysical measurements, we were able to make deep-blue phosphorescent dendrimers. Another exciting development with dendrimers was my demonstration of the world's first phosphorescent light-emitting transistor. The development of organic semiconductor lasers was an important aspect of the project. A major aspiration in the field has been to achieve electrical pumping of such lasers. Many researchers have approached this by injecting charges into the organic semiconductor. I pursued an alternative approach of indirect electrical pumping, and showed that a gallium nitride LED could pump a polymer laser. This opens the way to low cost tuneable visible lasers, and is an important breakthrough, which was highlighted by News and Views article in Nature. In the medical field, the most exciting result obtained was the demonstration that a wearable organic LED light source (like a sticking plaster) is effective in the treatment of many skin cancers. I started a range of energy-related research. In particular I developed a method for measuring exciton diffusion, which is a key parameter in organic solar cells. |
Exploitation Route | The light-emitting dendrimers are being commercialised by CDT Ltd and Arborescent 2 Ltd. The wearable light sources for skin cancer treatment are being commercialised by Ambicare Health Ltd. The LED-pumped polymer laser provide a compact tuneable visible light source that could be used by others for spectroscopy. The exciton diffuison measurements are used by energy researchers across the world and have already been cited in more than 400 papers. |
Sectors | Chemicals,Electronics,Energy,Healthcare,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology,Security and Diplomacy |
Description | The light-emitting dendrimers are being commercialised by CDT Ltd and Arborescent 2 Ltd. The wearable light sources for skin cancer treatment are being commercialised by Ambicare Health Ltd. The LED-pumped polymer laser provide a compact tuneable visible light source that could be used by others for spectroscopy. The exciton diffusion measurements are used by energy researchers across the world and have already been cited in more than 400 papers. |
First Year Of Impact | 2010 |
Sector | Chemicals,Electronics,Energy,Healthcare,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology |
Impact Types | Economic |
Description | EPSRC |
Amount | £414,277 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/F032099/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 05/2008 |
End | 10/2011 |
Description | EPSRC |
Amount | £414,277 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/F032099/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 05/2008 |
End | 10/2012 |
Description | EPSRC |
Amount | £683,454 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/I00243X/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2011 |
End | 12/2014 |
Description | EPSRC |
Amount | £589,517 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/I013288/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 06/2011 |
End | 11/2013 |
Description | EPSRC |
Amount | £853,569 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/F059922/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 10/2008 |
End | 09/2012 |
Description | EPSRC |
Amount | £853,569 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/F059922/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 10/2008 |
End | 09/2012 |
Description | EPSRC |
Amount | £1,106,734 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/G061688/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 10/2009 |
End | 03/2014 |
Description | EPSRC |
Amount | £683,454 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/I00243X/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2011 |
End | 12/2014 |
Description | EPSRC |
Amount | £1,106,734 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/G061688/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 10/2009 |
End | 03/2014 |
Description | EPSRC |
Amount | £589,517 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/I013288/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 06/2011 |
End | 11/2013 |
Description | European Commission (EC) |
Amount | £345,408 (GBP) |
Funding ID | FP7-LAMP |
Organisation | European Commission |
Sector | Public |
Country | European Union (EU) |
Start | 07/2010 |
End | 06/2013 |
Description | European Commission (EC) |
Amount | £345,408 (GBP) |
Funding ID | FP7-LAMP |
Organisation | European Commission |
Sector | Public |
Country | European Union (EU) |
Start | 07/2010 |
End | 06/2013 |
Description | MRC Cell Biology Unit |
Amount | £107,660 (GBP) |
Funding ID | G0802573 |
Organisation | Medical Research Council (MRC) |
Department | MRC Cell Biology Unit |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start |