Carrier Transport in Silicon Nanocrystallite-Based Multilayer Electroluminescent Devices

Abstract

AbstractThe electrical and optical properties of light emitting devices employing silicon nanocrystallites as the active material have been studied. Thin films of silicon nanocrystallites were deposited using a pulsed laser ablation supersonic expansion technique. In order to explore their potential for optoelectronic applications, these films have been incorporated into multilayer light emitting devices, using polymer carrier transport layers to enhance their efficiency. Device performance has been found to be weakly temperature dependent, but strongly dependent on the electrical transport properties of the material and the carrier injection mechanisms at the nanocrystal/electrode interface. A systematic study of simple electrode/nanocrystallite/electrode heterostructures has demonstrated that the electrode material and polarity of the applied bias control whether the devices operate in the interface limited or carrier transport limited regimes.