The Rise of Organic Photonics and Electronics

Printed organic electronics, a technology based on carbon-based semiconductors that can be processed into thin films using conventional coating and printing techniques, has been the subject of active research over the past decades. Due to their ability to be processed at low temperature, over large areas, at low cost, carbon-based semiconductors can lead to a new generation of energy-efficient products using energy-efficient manufacturing approaches. While the organic semiconductor layer plays a central role, the interfaces that are formed between the organic semiconducting layer and adjacent oxide layers or electrodes are also very critical and often determine the overall electrical performance of the device.

In this talk, we will discuss recent progress in a range of solid-state devices, including organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), organic field-effect transistors (OFETs), sensors, organic solar cells, and photodetectors. We will present strategies to modify and stabilize the electronic properties of interfaces that can yield devices with improved performance and longer lifetime. Examples of recent studies to reduce the environmental footprint of this emerging technology will be provided. We will show that these advances can lead to disruptive innovations to address some of the world’s greatest challenges.

Biography

Dr. Bernard Kippelen is the Joseph M. Pettit Professor of Microelectronics/Microsystems,and Optics and Photonics in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is the president of the Lafayette Institute, a major optoelectronics commercialization initiative that is based at Georgia Tech-Lorraine in Metz, France. He also serves as the director of the Center for Organic Photonics and Electronics and associate director of CIS:HSEM an Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. He is the recipient of NSF CAREER Award and 3M Young Faculty Award and the co-founder of several spin-off companies. Prof. Kippelen received a Maitrise in Solid-State Physics in 1985, and a Ph.D. in Nonlinear Optics in 1990 from the University Louis Pasteur in Strasbourg. He holds 15 patents and has co-authored over 235 refereed publications and 12 book chapters. His research ranges from the investigation of fundamental physical processes (nonlinear optical activity, charge transport, light harvesting and emission), to the design, fabrication and testing of light-weight flexible optoelectronic devices and circuits based on nanostructured organic materials.