Organic semiconductors and nanostructured this films for advanced electronic devices

Novel semiconducting materials (carbon based, oxides, perovskites) possess peculiar designed electronic, optical and mechanical properties that make them ideal candidates to develop innovative flexible, transparent or wearable electronics (e.g., sensors and actuators in smart textile, large area photo-detectors, soft biomedical electronic transducers). Moreover, the possibility to use synthetic chemistry and inexpensive solution-based or printing fabrication techniques makes organic semiconductors and high mobility oxides extremely viable novel materials for future technologies. Our research activity is focused on the fundamental aspects of charge transport processes within such materials (e.g. charge carrier generation, transport and collection) and on radiation-matter interaction effects, phenomena that are still far from being understood, despite their thriving performance of emerging applications. We carry out experimental electrical, spectroscopic and structural characterization on the following main areas, details can be found on our web-page (https://site.unibo.it/semiconductor-physics/en):

• Organic and hybrid semiconducting single crystals and thin films (e.g. TIPS-pentacene and perovskites). We recently showed how effective, direct ionizing radiation detectors (e.g. X-rays and alpha particles) can be realized based on solution-grown organic/hybrid materials. This research is carried out in the framework of collaborative research projects ( “FORTRESS” POR-FESR 2019-2023 Project and “FIRE” INFN Group 5 Call 2019-2022) coordinated by the Bologna group.

• Nanostructured organic semiconductors for smart textiles and bioelectronics: Wearable electronics offers many prospective applications such as sensing/monitoring of body functions. We develop innovative functional materials based on nanometer-thin layers of the conductive polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxithiophene) (PEDOT) to fabricate passive and active electronic biosensors such as organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) directly onto fabrics and plastic substrates. This research is partly funded by the PON-MIUR project “TEXSTYLE” (2019-2023), carried out in collaboration with the FIAT Research Center in Torino and by the FET-OPEN H2020 project “LIONHEARTED” (2018-2022) in collaboration with IIT Milano.

• High mobility oxides for flexible and transparent electronic devices: High mobility oxide semiconductors such as Zinc Tin Oxide (ZTO) and Gallium Indium Zinc Oxide (GIZO) combine unique electrical performance as active materials in thin-film transistors (TFTs). Flexible and transparent devices can be realized on unconventional light-weight substrates, with field-effect mobility above 10 cm²/Vs and operating voltage below 10 V.

Group website

https://site.unibo.it/semiconductor-physics/en

Pubblications

https://site.unibo.it/semiconductor-physics/en/publications

Collaborations

New University of Lisbon (PT), CEA (France), University of Kentucky (USA), University of Surrey (UK), University of Cambridge (UK), University of Linz (Austria), University of Wollongong (Australia), IIT Milan, Elettra synchrotron radiation laboratory (Italy University of Cagliari, Ecole Normale Des Mines EMSE (France), Ludwig-Maximillian Universitat Munich (Germania), Max Planck Institute Mainz (Germany), Los Alamos National Laboratory (USA), Institut de Ciencia de Materials (ICMAB-CSIC) Barcelona (Spain)