Determination of charge carrier transport properties in organic devices by admittance spectroscopy : application to hole mobility in α-NPD

in Physical Review. B : Condensed Matter (2007), 75

Hole mobility in N,N′-diphenyl-N,N′-bis(1-naphtylphenyl)-1,1′-biphenyl-4,4′-diamine (α-NPD) is evaluated by electrical characterization in the ac regime. The frequency-dependent complex admittance and ... [more ▼]

Hole mobility in N,N′-diphenyl-N,N′-bis(1-naphtylphenyl)-1,1′-biphenyl-4,4′-diamine (α-NPD) is evaluated by electrical characterization in the ac regime. The frequency-dependent complex admittance and impedance of the structure consisting of the organic layer, grown by thermal evaporation, sandwiched by indium tin oxide and aluminum electrodes, are measured as functions of the applied dc voltage. The capacitance response shows negative values for frequencies below a characteristic value depending on the bias and ranging from 0.1 Hz up to 20 Hz. It increases with the modulation frequency and reaches a peak, the magnitude and position of which are functions of the applied voltage. For higher frequencies, a minimum can be observed before the capacitance increases again up to a constant value. A final decreasing occurs at frequency of 4×106 Hz. The analysis of the experimental data is performed by a detailed theoretical study of the steady-state and small-signal electrical characteristics of the device. Numerical calculations are based on the solution of the basic semiconductor equations for the system consisting of two electrodes connected by the semiconducting channel formed by the organic layer. The description explicitly includes a continuous distribution of trap density of states and a field-dependent carrier mobility. The spatially dependent charge carrier and occupied trap concentrations, as well as the various components to the total current density, are obtained for the dc and ac regimes and are analyzed for given bias and frequency. Based on a formalism used in the study of inorganic semiconductors, the results of the simulation show that the inductive contribution to the capacitance response originates from the modulation of the hole concentration in the organic material, leading to the corresponding carrier transit time. Moreover, the low-frequency behavior of the capacitance curves could be explained by the presence of a band of defect states which modifies the charge distribution within the organic layer and the injection of electrons from the cathode. We show that the latter contribution is also responsible for the negative values of the capacitance measured below 10 Hz. Good agreement is observed between the experimental and theoretical electrical characteristics, in particular for the differential susceptance results and the subsequent hole mobility values. Our approach can be a useful contribution for the methodology of obtaining mobilities from admittance measurements as it allows one to clarify the physical origin of the measured frequency-dependent capacitance and to check for the experimental procedure. This work finally leads to the formulation of the conditions under which small-signal ac measurements can be used to determine carrier mobility in organic devices. [less ▲]

Admittance spectroscopy of OLEDs

Scientific conference (2005, December 12)

Electrical characterization of InGaN/GaN multiple-quantum-well structures by thermal admittance spectroscopy

in Physica Status Solidi C. Current Topics in Solid State Physics (2002)

Experimental results of electrical characterization of InGaN/GaN multiple-quantum-well electrolu- minescence test structures obtained by thermal admittance spectroscopy are presented. The stu- died GaN ... [more ▼]

Experimental results of electrical characterization of InGaN/GaN multiple-quantum-well electrolu- minescence test structures obtained by thermal admittance spectroscopy are presented. The stu- died GaN : Mg/5 × (InGaN/GaN)/GaN:Si structures were grown on c-plane sapphire substrate by metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy. Admittance measurements were conducted from room tem- perature down to 125 K for a wide frequency range and for different applied bias voltages. Analy- sis of the capacitance versus frequency curves shows the presence of several cutoff frequencies which originate from the response of equivalent RC series circuits and give peaks in the conduc- tance divided by angular frequency. The dependence of the position and the amplitude of these peaks on temperature is discussed. [less ▲]

Experimental and theoretical investigations of the electrical properties of undoped and magnesium-doped GaN layers

in Journal of Crystal Growth (2001), 230

The ac characteristics of GaN : Mg and undoped GaN layers, grown by MOVPE on sapphire substrates, are measured for a wide range of temperature and bias conditions, in order to investigate the effect of ... [more ▼]

The ac characteristics of GaN : Mg and undoped GaN layers, grown by MOVPE on sapphire substrates, are measured for a wide range of temperature and bias conditions, in order to investigate the effect of the magnesium-related level on the transport properties. Two peaks, whose height and position depend on the measurement temperature, are observed in the admittance curves (G/ω versus frequency) of the Mg-doped samples, whereas only one peak appears in undoped samples. The study of the frequency dependence of the impedance, with a model including the two metallic Au/GaN junctions, the GaN layer itself, shows that, besides the effect of the differential resistance of the layer which plays a role in both sample types, the presence of a Mg-related deep level contributes to the observed variations of the peaks in the admittance curves of the p-doped samples. Results of a theoretical steady-state and small-signal analysis based on numerical modelling of the Au/GaN/Au heterostructure complete our analysis. [less ▲]

Thermal admittance spectroscopy of Mg-doped GaN Schottky diodes

in Journal of Applied Physics (2001), 90

Thermal admittance spectroscopy measurements at temperatures ranging from room temperature to 90 K are performed on Schottky structures based on Mg-doped GaN layers grown by metalorganic vapor phase ... [more ▼]

Thermal admittance spectroscopy measurements at temperatures ranging from room temperature to 90 K are performed on Schottky structures based on Mg-doped GaN layers grown by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy on sapphire. The analysis of the experimental data is made by a detailed theoretical study of the steady-state and small-signal electrical characteristics of the structures. Numerical simulations are based on the solution of the basic semiconductor equations for the structure consisting of two Schottky diodes connected back to back by a conduction channel formed by the GaN layer. The description explicitly includes the Mg-related acceptor level, with its temperature- and position-dependent incomplete occupation state, leading to a dynamic exchange with the valence band. It fully reproduces the variations with temperature of the capacitance-- frequency and conductance over frequency curves, allowing to give for all temperature ranges the origin of the various contributions to the junction capacitance and of the microscopic mechanisms responsible for the capacitance--frequency cutoff. Series resistance effects are shown to be dominant at temperatures above 230 K, whereas the Mg-related acceptor level governs the electrical behavior below 230 K. The existence of a second acceptor level with an activation energy of several tens of meV is revealed from the analysis of the characteristics at low temperature. An optimized fitting procedure based on the comparison of the electrical characteristics obtained from the numerical simulations to the experimental data allows one to determine the microscopic parameters describing the structure, among which the acceptor activation energies, thermal capture cross sections, concentrations, and the Schottky contact barrier heights are the most important ones. The obtained activation energy of the Mg-acceptor level of 210 meV is by a factor of 2 larger than that obtained from a classical Arrhenius plot, showing that a complete description of Mg-doped GaN junctions requires the correct treatment of the Mg level, acting as a dopant and as deep impurity, as well as the inclusion of series resistance effects. [less ▲]

Investigation of defect levels in Mg-doped GaN Schottky structures by thermal admittance spectroscopy

in Ponce, Fernando; Bell, Abigail (Eds.) ICNS-4: Proceedings of The Fourth International Conference on Nitride Semiconductors (2001)

Electrical conduction by interface states in semiconductor heterojunctions

in Semiconductor Science & Technology (2000), 15

Electrical conduction in semiconductor heterojunctions containing defect states in the interface region is studied. As the classical drift-diffusion mechanism cannot in any case explain electrical ... [more ▼]

Electrical conduction in semiconductor heterojunctions containing defect states in the interface region is studied. As the classical drift-diffusion mechanism cannot in any case explain electrical conduction in semiconductor heterojunctions, tunnelling involving interface states is often considered as a possible conduction path. A theoretical treatment is made where defect states in the interface region with a continuous energy distribution are included. Electrical conduction through this defect band then allows the transit of electrons from the conduction band of one semiconductor to the valence band of the second component. The analysis is initiated by electrical measurements on n-CdS/p-CdTe heterojunctions obtained by chemical vapour deposition of CdS on (111) oriented CdTe single crystals, for which current--voltage and capacitance--frequency results are shown. The theoretical analysis is based on the numerical resolution of Poisson's equation and the continuity equations of electrons, holes and defect states, where a current component corresponding to the defect band conduction is explicitly included. Comparison with the experimental curves shows that this formalism yields an efficient tool to model the conduction process through the interface region. It also allows us to determine critical values of the physical parameters when a particular step in the conduction mechanism becomes dominant. [less ▲]

Numerical modelling of the photorefractive effect in II-VI semiconductors

Poster (2000)