In-situ/operando characterization techniques for organic semiconductors and devices

Abstract

Abstract The increasing demands of multifunctional organic electronics require advanced organic semiconducting materials to be developed and significant improvements to be made to device performance. Thus, it is necessary to gain an in-depth understanding of the film growth process, electronic states, and dynamic structure-property relationship under realistic operation conditions, which can be obtained by in-situ/operando characterization techniques for organic devices. Here, the up-to-date developments in the in-situ/operando optical, scanning probe microscopy, and spectroscopy techniques that are employed for studies of film morphological evolution, crystal structures, semiconductor-electrolyte interface properties, and charge carrier dynamics are described and summarized. These advanced technologies leverage the traditional static characterizations into an in-situ and interactive manipulation of organic semiconducting films and devices without sacrificing the resolution, which facilitates the exploration of the intrinsic structure-property relationship of organic materials and the optimization of organic devices for advanced applications.