Interfacial domain structure of polycrystalline semiconducting polymer films

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.