Margaret Stevens

Hybrid Inorganic/Organic LEDs for Efficient Lighting

Solid-state lighting has the potential to dramatically reduce the world’s electricity consumption. Materials like gallium nitride (GaN) have been extensively studied in light-emitting diodes (LEDs) as a possible replacement for conventional incandescent light bulbs. While inorganic devices have good charge transport and high carrier mobilities, they tend to produce blue light instead of the desired white light for homes and offices.  Organic materials allow for the optimization of color, but lack charge transport capabilities present in inorganics.  The Paul-Drude Institute for Solid State Electronics (PDI), located in Berlin, Germany, works to create hybrid LEDs that use inorganics and organics in novel device architectures to reap the benefits of both materials.  This presentation discusses a 10 week summer internship at PDI that focused on the integration of an organic semiconductor with inorganic GaN nanowires to achieve this hybrid device structure.  The opportunity was made possible by The German Academic Exchange Service’s (DAAD) RISE undergraduate program and the McCulloch Center for Global Initiatives at Mount Holyoke College.