Simulation – New generation optoelectronics

A synergistic effort between theory, modeling, computer simulations and experiments at Oak Ridge National Laboratory has demonstrated that oriented fluorescent nanostructures with dramatically enhanced spectral and photophysical properties can be formed from single molecules of semiconducting organic polymers. Semiconductors based on organic materials such as polymers are more suited to a range of practical applications than the more conventional and more inflexible inorganic crystals. Computer models predicted, and laboratory experiments using ink-jet methods confirmed, that dilute polymer solutions organize themselves into compact shapes. Using these techniques with photosensitive materials, ORNL researchers produced nanoparticles with superior optical and electronic “quantum dot” properties that function similarly to light-emitting diodes or transistors. The versatility introduced by the use of organic polymers could result in such future products as electronic paper, luminescent clothing and ever more miniaturized and novel electronic tools and consumer products.