Charge carrier dynamics—a key factor for fast organic photorefractive materials

Organic photorefractive materials react quickly to an incident light intensity modulation; their optical response times can be as low as a few milliseconds. This time scale is determined by the interplay of a number of processes which are primarily related to the photoconductivity of the material. The present contribution focuses on charge carrier dynamics, i.e. charge transport and trapping, in organic photorefractive materials. Starting from a discussion of the transport mechanisms, the relevant parameters and length scales are determined. At the end, a connection between photoconductive properties and optical response times is presented.