D3.2 – Templating, ordering and strong light-matter coupling for polarization control
Principle Investigator: Prof. Malte Gather
Organic LEDs are the backbone of modern displays – from smartphones to large TV sets. In the near future, they might also find their way into other applications, from biomedical to sensing to communications. Being able to control the polarization of light is required in many areas of photonics. Currently, polarization filters are generally used to turn the normally unpolarized emission from OLEDs into highly polarized light; however, this process generally wastes over half of the light produce by the OLED.
In this project, you will explore principles of templating and ordering to develop OLEDs with intrinsically polarized emission. Exploiting effects of strong interaction between the electrically excited states in the OLED material and the photons emitted by the OLED, we hope to drastically improve the polarization ratio (that is, how strongly the emitted light is polarized) compared to the current state of the art. This project links directly to projects B1.2 and A1.2 but will benefit from the vivid exchange across the research training group as a whole.
The project will provide training in the design, modelling, fabrication and characterization of OLEDs. There will be opportunities to work with a wide range of tools, including vacuum deposition equipment, modern lithography, 3D printing, spectroscopy, ultrafast lasers, custom developed optical modelling software and many others. Depending on progress, there may also be scope for developing an application of the polarized OLED in biomedical sensing.
References
[1] Mischok, A., Hillebrandt, S., Kwon, S. et al. Highly efficient polaritonic light-emitting diodes with angle-independent narrowband emission. Nat. Photon. 17, 393–400 (2023).
[2] Le Roux, F., Mischok, A., Bradley, D. D. C., Gather, M. C., Efficient Anisotropic Polariton Lasing Using Molecular Conformation and Orientation in Organic Microcavities. Adv. Funct. Mater. 2022, 32, 2209241.
[3] Tenopala-Carmona, F., Lee, O. S., Crovini, E., Neferu, A. M., Murawski, C., Olivier, Y., Zysman-Colman, E., Gather, M. C., Identification of the Key Parameters for Horizontal Transition Dipole Orientation in Fluorescent and TADF Organic Light-Emitting Diodes. Adv. Mater. 2021, 33, 2100677.
The ideal candidate has a training in physics, chemistry, electrical engineering or a related discipline and should already be acquainted with OLEDs and or thin film optics. Curiosity, creativity, dedication and a strong team spirit are however equally important. As the group operates exclusively in English, applications from international candidates are explicitly welcomed; very good command of English language is highly desirable.