Charging and exciton-mediated decharging of metal nanoparticles in organic semiconductor matrices

Giovanni Ligorio (1) , Marco Nardi Vittorio (1) , Christos Christodoulou (1) , Ileana Florea (2) , N. Crespo-Monteiro (3) , Ovidiu Ersen (2) , Martin Brinkmann (4) , Norbert Koch (1)

1 HU Berlin - Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin = Humboldt University of Berlin = Université Humboldt de Berlin
2 IPCMS - Institut de Physique et Chimie des Matériaux de Strasbourg
3 LHC - Laboratoire Hubert Curien
4 ICS - Institut Charles Sadron

Gold nanoparticles (Au-NPs) were deposited on the surface of n- and p-type organic semiconductors to form defined model systems for charge storage based electrically addressable memory elements. We used ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy to study the electronic properties and found that the Au-NPs become positively charged because of photoelectron emission, evidenced by spectral shifts to higher binding energy. Upon illumination with light that can be absorbed by the organic semiconductors, dynamic charge neutrality of the Au-NPs could be re-established through electron transfer from excitons. The light-controlled charge state of the Au-NPs could add optical addressability to memory elements.

Domaines: Matériaux; Micro et nanotechnologies/Microélectronique

Giovanni Ligorio, Marco Nardi Vittorio, Christos Christodoulou, Ileana Florea, N. Crespo-Monteiro, et al.. Charging and exciton-mediated decharging of metal nanoparticles in organic semiconductor matrices. Applied Physics Letters, 2014, 104 (16), pp.163302-1. ⟨10.1063/1.4873347⟩. ⟨ujm-00990304⟩