Simultaneous optimization of charge-carrier mobility and optical gain in semiconducting polymer films

Efficient light emission combined with high charge-carrier mobility has proven elusive for polymer semiconductors, because high mobility is typically achieved using approaches that quench luminescence. A new strategy, introducing a limited number of more-effective hopping sites between otherwise rel...

Ausführliche Beschreibung

Gespeichert in:
Bibliographische Detailangaben
Veröffentlicht in:Nature materials 2008-05, Vol.7 (5), p.376-380
Hauptverfasser: Yap, Boon Kar, Xia, Ruidong, Campoy-Quiles, Mariano, Stavrinou, Paul N., Bradley, Donal D. C.
Format: Artikel
Sprache:eng
Schlagworte:
Online-Zugang:Volltext
Tags: Tag hinzufügen
Keine Tags, Fügen Sie den ersten Tag hinzu!
Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:Efficient light emission combined with high charge-carrier mobility has proven elusive for polymer semiconductors, because high mobility is typically achieved using approaches that quench luminescence. A new strategy, introducing a limited number of more-effective hopping sites between otherwise relatively isolated polymer chains, achieves this aim. The combination of efficient light emission and high charge-carrier mobility has thus far proved elusive for polymer semiconductors, with high mobility typically achieved by cofacial π -electron system to π -electron system interactions that quench exciton luminescence 1 , 2 . We report a new strategy, comprising the introduction of a limited number of more effective hopping sites between otherwise relatively isolated, and thus highly luminescent, polyfluorene chains. Our approach results in polymer films with large mobility ( μ ≈3–6×10 −2  cm 2  V −1  s −1 ) and simultaneously excellent light-emission characteristics. These materials are expected to be of interest for light-emitting transistors 3 , light-emitting diode sources for optical communications 4 and may offer renewed hope for electrically pumped laser action 2 , 5 , 6 . In the last context, optically pumped distributed feedback lasers comprising one-dimensional etched silica grating structures coated with polymer have state-of-the-art excitation thresholds (as low as 30 W cm −2 (0.1 nJ per pulse or 0.3 μJ cm −2 ) for 10 Hz, 12 ns, 390 nm excitation) and slope efficiencies (up to 11%).
ISSN:1476-1122
1476-4660
DOI:10.1038/nmat2165