Nano@Tech: Structure – Process - Property Relationships Governing Solution Processed Semiconductor Performance
Elsa Reichmanis
School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology

Abstract: Polymeric semiconductors are promising materials for the commercialization of large-area, low-cost and flexible electronics. Their electrical properties are extremely sensitive to structure at multiple length scales, and process modifications can impact calculated hole mobilities by up to four orders of magnitude. For the readily available semiconducting polymer, poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT), various microstructural features that correlate well with hole mobility have been identified. These include paracrystalline disorder, exciton bandwidth, polymer molecular weight, orientation of crystalline domains, and inter-grain connectivity. Here, a set of general, robust analysis algorithms will be presented that can be used to statistically quantify two-dimensional order in microstructures of P3HT-based OFET devices. Application of these analytical techniques to a variety of shear-based processing methods indicate that shear-driven alignment of P3HT fibers can effect substantial improvements in macroscale mobility.

Bio: Elsa Reichmanis is Brook Byers Professor of Sustainability and Professor, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Georgia Tech. Prior to joining Georgia Tech she was Bell Labs Fellow and Director of the Materials Research Department at Bell Labs, Alcatel-Lucent. She received her Ph.D. and BS degrees in chemistry from Syracuse University. In 1984, she was promoted to Supervisor of the Radiation Sensitive Materials and Application Group, followed by promotion to Head of the Polymer and Organic Materials Research Department in 1994. Dr. Reichmanis was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1995 and has participated in several National Research Council (NRC) activities. She has been active in the American Chemical Society throughout her career, having served as 2003 President of the Society. In other service, she is associate editor of the ACS Journal, Chemistry of Materials. Dr. Reichmanis is the recipient of several awards, including named university lectureships. She was awarded the ACS Award in Applied Polymer Science in 1999, and is the 2001 recipient of the Society of Chemical Industry’s Perkin Medal. Her research interests include the chemistry, properties and application of materials technologies for photonic and electronic applications, with particular focus on polymeric and nanostructured materials for advanced technologies. The Reichmanis research group is currently exploring polymeric and hybrid organic/inorganic materials chemistries for electronic and photonic applications, plastic electronics in particular.