CPM Seminar

Nanoscale electrical probing for large area organic electronics

Jeff Mativetsky

Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering
Princeton University

Mechanical flexibility, light weight, ease of processing, and low cost are some of the advantages associated with organic materials. With the aim of imparting these features to large-scale electronics, such as solar cells and display technologies, electrically conductive organic materials are gaining significant attention.

The electrical performance of organic systems is critically impacted by molecular organization at multiple length scales. One way to introduce molecular order is to make use of supramolecular (i.e. non-covalent) interactions. We have developed post-deposition treatments for promoting supramolecular assembly and guiding crystallization, making it possible to engineer model systems and systematically test transport across single grain boundaries. We have also induced the assembly of nano- and micro-fibres and explored their use, at the single fibre and ensemble level, as components in organic field effect transistors.

To correlate structural and electrical characteristics over nanometer to micrometer scales we are using conductive atomic force microscopy (C-AFM) [1]. This technique makes use of a sharp metallic tip which serves as a movable electrical contact capable of nanometer-scale positional control and minimally invasive, nano-newton-range forces. I will also present recent results where we establish C-AFM as a tool for patterning conductive graphene pathways on otherwise insulating graphene oxide [2].

[1] J. M. Mativetsky, M. Palma, and P. Samor�, Topics in Current Chemistry 285, 157 (2008).
[2] J. M. Mativetsky, E. Treossi, E. Orgiu, et al., Journal of the American Chemical Society 132, 14130 (2010).