Organic Optoelectronics Laboratory
Case Western Reserve University, Department of Physics
Our research centers on the optical and electronic properties of organic materials. The emphasis is on understanding the physical mechanisms involved in the application of organic materials to optoelectronic technology. We are interested mainly in the properties of organic molecules, liquid crystals and polymers. All of our projects are interdisciplinary in nature, involving chemists from various institutions.
The principal optical experiments in the group include z-scan, pump-probe third order nonlinear optics, coherent second harmonic and third harmonic generation, hyper-Rayleigh scattering, Pockels effect, various waveguiding experiments, and photorefractive 4-wave mixing and 2-beam coupling. We also measure the transport properties of carriers in these materials using photoconductivity and dark conductivity measurements. We also fabricate prototype devices that help us understand the capability of new materials.
Our current projects include the multilayer polymers for photonics as part of the CLiPS center, including: multilayer films for optical data storage, 1-D photonic crystals, distributed feedback lasers, spectral sculpting for photovoltaics, and cavity polaritons. Our PIRE: ReNeW project includes transport studies in self-organizing bio-based materials and cellulose nano-crystals decorated with plasmonic particles for enhanced efficiency in photovoltaics. The applications toward which these studies are aimed include optical data storage, solar cells ( photovoltaic devices ), optical switches, lighting, display technology and thin film transistors.
Please browse and help yourself to the preprints and reprints.
Kenneth D. Singer
Department of Physics
Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland, Ohio 44106
Phone: (216)-368-4017
Fax: (216)-368-4671
Email: kds4@case.edu