Abstract
Before the invention of the transistor in the 1940s, semiconductors were used as detectors in radios in a device called a “cat’s whisker”. At that time their operation was completely mysterious. Only after the introduction of semiconductor band theory did it become clear that the “cat’s whisker” is a primitive example of a metal-semiconductor Schottky diode. Today organic materials are being investigated for their electronic properties. Such materials are especially attractive for lightweight, flexible, and low-cost solar cells and light emitting devices, as well as transistors and electrophotographic photoreceptors. Yet, even after 40 years of work and a large database, the physics and chemistry that determines the electronic properties of organic materials are not well understood. Practicing organic electronics is like attempting to do silicon device design without semiconductor band theory. It is the purpose of this paper to briefly summarize what is known about the electronic properties of organic materials from charge transport data. It will be shown that our understanding of the charge transport mechanism and the electronic properties of organic materials is at a rudimentary phase which is a limiting factor in applying these materials to practical devices, very similar to the “cat’s whisker” phase of inorganic semiconductor research.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Cat’s-whisker detector from Wikipedia, August 2010.
Chellappan Vijila, Almantas Pivrikas, Huang Chun, Chen Zhikuan, Ronald Osterbacka, and Chua Soo Jin, Org. Elect., 2007, vol. 8, p. 8.
Hertel, D., Bässler, H., Scherf, U., and Horhold, H.H., J. Chem. Phys., 1999, vol. 110, p. 9214.
Im, C., Bässler, H., Rosr, H., and Horhold, H.H., J. Chem. Phys., 2000, vol. 113, p. 3802.
Abokowitz, M.A., Facci, J.S., Limburg, W.W., and Yanus, J.F., Phys. Rev., Ser. B, 1992, vol. 46, p. 6705.
Young, R., J. Chem. Phys., 1995, vol. 103, p. 6749.
Borsenberger, P.M. and Weiss, D.S., Organic Photoreceptors for Xerography, N.Y.: Marcel Dekker, 1998.
Dolezalek, F.K., Photoconductivity and Related Phenomena, Mort, J. and Pai, D.M., Eds., N.Y.: Elsevier, 1976, p. 71.
Schein, L.B. and Tyutnev, A., J. Phys. Chem., Ser. C, 2008, vol. 112, p. 7295.
Weiss, D.S. and Abkowitz, M., Chem. Rev., 2010, vol. 110, p. 479.
Hoppe, H. and Niyazi Seerdar Sariciftci, J. Mater. Res., 2004, vol. 19, p. 1924.
Gunes, Serap, Neugebauer, Helmut, and Niyazi Serdar Sariciftci, Chem. Rev., 2007, vol. 107, p. 1324.
Segura, J., Martin, N., and Guldi, D., Chem. Soc. Rev., 2005, vol. 34, p. 31.
Bredas, Jean-Lucm, Norton, J.E., Cornil, J., and Coropceanu, V., Accts. Chem. Res., 2009, vol. 42, p. 1691.
Emin, D., Adv. Phys., 1975, vol. 24, p. 305.
Schein, L.B., Glatz, D., and Scott, J.C., Phys. Rev. Lett., 1990, vol. 65, p. 472.
Bässler, H., Phys. Stat. Sol., Ser. b, 1993, vol. 175, p. 15.
Borsenberger, P.M. and Schein, L.B., J. Phys. Chem., 1994, vol. 98, p. 233.
Schein, L.B., Tyutnev, A., and Weiss, D.S., Chem. Phys., 2009, vol. 365, p. 101.
Borsenberger, P.M., Gruenbaum, W.T., Kaeding, J.E., and Magin, E.H., Phys. Status Solidi, Ser. b, 1995, vol. 191, p. 171.
Young, R.H., Philos. Mag., Ser. B, 1995, vol. 72, p. 435.
Novikov, S.V., Dunlap, D.H., Kenkre, V.M., Parris, P.E., and Vannikov, A.V., Phys. Rev. Lett., 1998, vol. 81, p. 4472.
Bredas, Jean-Luc, Coropceanu, V., and Salman, Seyhan, Private Communications.
Schein, L.B., Saenko, V., Pozhidaev, E.D., Tyutnev, A., and Weiss, D.S., J. Phys. Chem., Ser. C, 2009, vol. 113, p. 1067.
Schein, L.B., Peled, A., and Glatz, D., J. Appl. Phys., 1989, vol. 66, p. 686.
Gill, W.C., J. Appl. Phys., 1972, vol. 43, p. 5033.
Peled, A. and Schein, L.B., Chem. Phys. Lett., 1988, vol. 153, p. 422.
Borsenberger, P.M., J. Appl. Phys., 1990, vol. 68, p. 5682.
Young, R.H., Phys. Rev. Lett., 1994, vol. 72, p. 3888.
Schein, L.B., Philos. Mag., Ser. B, 1992, vol. 65, p. 795.
Dunlap, D.H., Parris, P.E., and Kenkre, V.M., Phys. Rev. Lett., 1996, vol. 77, p. 542.
Dunlap, H., Kenkre, V.M., and Parris, P.E., J. Imaging Sci. Technol., 1999, vol. 43, p. 437.
Parris, P.E., Dunlap, D.H., and Kenkre, V.M., Phys. Stat. Solidi, Ser. b, 2000, vol. 218, p. 47.
Novikov, S.V. and Vannikov, A.V., J. Phys. Chem., Ser. C, 2009, vol. 113, p. 2532.
Dunlap, D.H., Schein, L.B., Tyutnev, A., Saenko, V., Pozhidaev, E.D., Parris, P.E., and Weiss, D.S., J. Phys. Chem., Ser. C, 2010, vol. 114, p. 9076.
Rudenko, A.I. and Arhipov, V.I., Philosoph. Magazine, Ser. B, 1982, vol. 45, p. 177.
Pfister, G. and Scher, H., Adv. Phys., 1978, vol. 27, p. 747.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Published in Russian in Elektrokhimiya, 2012, Vol. 48, No. 3, pp. 309–319.
The article is published in the original.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Schein, L.B. Organic electronics—Silicon device design without semiconductor band theory. Russ J Electrochem 48, 281–290 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1023193512030135
Received:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1023193512030135