This tutorial is intended to give attendees a fundamental background and knowledge of current developments in the fields of organic photovoltaic devices (OPVs) and organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). Recent reports of efficiencies exceeding 5 percent have brought OPVs to the attention of many university, government, and industry researchers as a promising pathway to a low-cost, high-volume manufacturing photovoltaic technology. The first half of the tutorial will discuss the fundamental mechanisms of the operation of these devices, along with design concepts for single- layer, bilayer, bulk heterojunction and organic-inorganic hybrid devices. The topics of optimization of light absorption across the solar spectrum, exciton diffusion, electron transfer, and charge transport will be covered. An engineering roadmap for achieving energy conversion efficiencies greater than 10 percent will be discussed. The second half of the tutorial will cover the fundamental principals of OLED device physics and design. Along with applications in flat-panel displays, these devices show promise for efficient solid state while lighting for general illumination applications. This part of the tutorial will focus on polymer-based devices obtained by solution processing, with special attention paid to cross-linkable materials. Pathways and ideas for obtaining higher device efficiencies will be discussed.

Peter Peumans
Stanford University

Klaus Meerholz
University of Cologne, Germany