Transient space-charge-perturbed currents in organic materials: A Monte Carlo study

Abstract

The transient current holds rich information about carrier transport and is used to derive charge mobility in the time-of-flight (TOF) measurement. Because carriers have finite charge, all transient currents are space-charge-perturbed (SCP). Previous theories of transient SCP currents are derived by neglecting diffusion and assuming a constant mobility, which is unfit for organic materials because of the hopping behavior of carriers. Due to the lack of knowledge, we do not fully understand the results from TOF experiments, which hinders the understanding of the charge transport mechanisms. Here, we perform Monte Carlo simulations of multi-particle carrier movement to study the transient SCP currents in organic materials. Coulomb interactions are calculated, and it is assumed that multiple carriers cannot occupy the same site simultaneously. Our results show that space-charge perturbation has two opposite effects on charge transport. In most cases, the net result is slower carrier movement, which suggests that TOF measurements under SCP conditions underestimate the charge mobility of organic materials.