Light-matter Interactions: From the Photophysics of Organic Semiconductors to High Spatial Resolution Optical Tweezer-controlled Nanoprobes.

摘要

Studies of light-matter interactions in organic semiconductors and in optical tweezer trapping of nanoparticles are presented. In the research related to organic semiconductor materials, a variety of novel materials and their composites have been characterized, and physical mechanisms behind their optoelectronic properties have been established. Three novel functionalized hexacene derivatives were deemed sufficiently stable to enable characterization of these materials in devices. From dark current and photocurrent measurements of the hexacene thin-films, it was determined that all three derivatives are photoconductive in the near-infrared, and space charge limited mobility values were obtained. In addition, physical mechanisms behind charge transfer, charge carrier photogeneration, and charge transport in small-molecule donor/acceptor composite films have been systematically studied. In these studies, it was determined that the charge transfer from the donor to the acceptor molecule can result in either an emissive charge transfer exciton (exciplex) or a non-emissive charge transfer exciton formation, depending on the energy difference between LUMO of the donor and the acceptor. However, the most dramatic trends in photoluminescent and photoconductive properties of the donor/acceptor composites were correlated with the separation between the donor and acceptor molecules at the donor/acceptor interface. In particular, composite films with larger separations exhibited electric field-assisted charge transfer exciton dissociation, which contributed to nanosecond time-scale photocurrents under a 500 ps pulsed photoexciation. Large donor/acceptor separation also resulted in reduced charge carrier recombination, which led to a factor of 5-10 increase in continuous wave photocurrents in certain donor/acceptor composites, as compared to those in pristine donor films.;In the optical tweezer based studies, work towards the development of high spatial resolution optical tweezer controlled nanoprobes is presented. In particular, the possibility of exploiting the optical resonance of a particle to increase the optical tweezer forces acting on it within the trap has been investigated. Such an increase in the force would improve the potential spatial resolution of an optical tweezer controlled probe. Experimental results and numerical simulations on micron sized resonant dielectric particles showed a small increase in the optical forces that confine such particles within the trap, when tweezer trapping is conducted at wavelengths on the red-side of the optical resonance. Preliminary work on optical tweezer controlled ion/pH sensitive probes and on surface charge measurements is also reported.