| AVS 64th International Symposium & Exhibition | |
| Novel Trends in Synchrotron and FEL-Based Analysis Focus Topic | Wednesday Sessions |
| Session SA+AS+HC+SS-WeA |
| Session: | In Situ and Operando Characterization of Interfacial Reactions in Energy & Electronic Devices |
| Presenter: | Franziska Löhrer, Technische Universität München, Germany |
| Authors: | F.C. Löhrer, Technische Universität München, Germany V. Körstgens, Technische Universität München, Germany M. Schwartzkopf, Deutsches Elektronensynchrotron DESY, Germany A. Hinz, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Germany O. Polonskyi, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Germany T. Strunskus, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Germany F. Faupel, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Germany S.V. Roth, Deutsches Elektronensynchrotron DESY, Germany P. Müller-Buschbaum, Technische Universität München, Germany |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
With their easy processability, high flexibility and tuneable optical properties, organic electronics (OE) offer a wide range of potential applications. Especially photoactive polymers have received attention in recent years as candidates for organic photovoltaics (OPV) and light emitting diodes (OLEDs). Although based on organic materials, their electrodes are typically made from metals due to their unrivaled electronic conductivity. Thus, polymer-metal interfaces are inherently present in most OE devices and have a major influence on their behavior. Understanding the growth mechanisms of metal contacts on polymer thin films plays a crucial role in identifying potential ways to enhance the device performance. We investigate the morphological changes happening at the metal-polymer interface during the sputter deposition of metal contacts onto photoactive polymer films via in-situ grazing incidence small and wide angle x-ray scattering (GISAXS/GIWAXS) [1]. These techniques allow insights into the structural evolution of the metal on the organic film, which depends on various parameters such as the deposition rate or the film morphology. Making use of the brilliant synchrotron light source Petra III at DESY [2], we can study the deposition behavior of the metal on the polymer film with outstandingly high spatial and temporal resolution. The acquired large data sequences are tracked in real-time and further analyzed using the fast data reduction software DPDAK [3]. The final film morphology is characterized via scanning electron microscopy and X-ray reflectometry. UV/Vis absorption and reflection measurements complete our work. The metal layer formation can be described by applying an appropriate growth model based on our earlier work. [4] The model is refined in an iterative process of GISAXS simulations and data fitting. Comparing the deposition behavior of typical electrode materials on thin films of photoactive organic materials helps to understand their influence on the respective device performance.
[1] A. Hexemer, P. Müller-Buschbaum, IUCrJ 2, 106-125 (2015)
[2] A. Buffet, et al., J. Synchrotron Radiat., 19(4), 647-653 (2012)
[3] G. Benecke, et al., J. Appl. Crystallogr., 47(5), 1797-1803 (2014)
[4] M. Schwartzkopf et al., ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 7(24), 13547-13556 (2015)