Exciton Dynamics in Organic Electronics

Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs) are a rapidly expanding technology, increasingly used for displays in televisions and smart phones, even the iPhone. However, if this technology is to continue to expand it requires the continued improvement of the molecular components that form the building blocks of the device. This is especially true for OLEDs that emit in the blue region of the spectrum, where device lifetimes remain very short.

In OLEDs the excited states that emit the light are formed by the recombination of charge carriers, electrons and holes. This electrical excitation leads, through the spin statistics of charge recombination, to 25% generation of emissive singlet states and 75% generation of non-emissive triplet. However, a more detailed understanding of exciton formation and the mechanisms involved are completely lacking. In this PhD position, we will combine a number of theoretical methods to describe exciton formation relevant in the context of OLEDs. The understanding obtained will lead to new perspectives for the design of molecules in OLEDs.