Study of organic materials for application in electronics devices, performed by using EDXD, EDXR, AFM and FTIR techniques, are carried on.
At present we focus on organic devices for solar application, i.e. organic solar cell. The aim is to give a surface and structural characterization of organic thin film and correlate it with the performances of devices, thus getting a deeper understanding of aging processes. As active layer highly performing materials, blends of conjugated polymer and fullerene (ex: P3HT:PCBM and MDMO-PPV:PCBM, are studied).
Among the used techniques, one deserve a special stress: joint EDXR/AFM. A custom instrument has been assembled, which can perform in-situ-joint-time resolved EDXR/AFM measurements. It allows to collect data and information about the active-layer bulk, its surface and buried interface, in real time, in working conditions and different environmental conditions (heating, annealing,controlled atmosphere and humidity).
The study of the organic solar cell is carried on with a step-by-step procedure, to individuate the possible contribution of the various layers composing the final device to the overall structural-morphological stability.