We are interested in the fundamental properties of materials related to small dimensionality and large interface area. Understanding these properties is essential to exploit them in emerging technologies, such as renewable energy sources. In particular we focus on two classes of nanostructured materials, namely organic and inorganic semiconductors, and on their interplay, from basic scientific issues all the way to the device level. Some topics of specific interest are:
1. Nanowire synthesis and devices: semiconductor nanowires are synthesized by different approaches, including top-down and bottom-up methods, and lithographic techniques are used to fabricate nanowire arrays and devices.
2. Organic semiconductors: we study the fundamental properties of organic semiconductors and their use in "plastic electronics." In particular we focus on the interplay between charge carrier photogeneration and exciton recombination, which is a determining factor of the performance of organic solar cells, light-emitting diodes and field-effect transistors.
3. Organic-inorganic hybrid systems: we investigate the optoelectronic properties of hybrid organic-inorganic heterostructures specifically targeted to light sensing and photovoltaic applications, combining microscopy, optical and photocurrent spectroscopy, and nanofabrication technologies. |
- Disruptive Photonic Technologies (DPT)
- NAP Grant (Seed Funding)
- Nanolaser Based On A III-V Single Nanowire Embedded In A Photonic Crystal Cavity
- Nanowire-Based Image Sensors
- SinBeRISE Subproject 5 - Characterization
| Selected Publications | - Soci, C., Bao, X. Y., Aplin, D. P. R., Wang, D. L. (2008). A Systematic Study on the Growth of GaAs Nanowires by Metal-Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition. Nano Letters, 8(12), 4275-4282.
- Soci, C., Zhang, A., Xiang, B., Dayeh, S. A., Aplin, D. P. R., Park, J., Bao, X. Y., Lo, Y. H., Wang, D. (2007). ZnO nanowire UV photodetectors with high internal gain. Nano Letters, 7(4), 1003-1009.
- Soci, C., Hwang, I. W., Moses, D., Zhu, Z., Waller, D., Gaudiana, R., Brabec, C. J., Heeger, A. J. (2007). Photoconductivity of a low-bandgap conjugated polymer. Advanced Functional Materials, 17(4), 632-636.
- Soci, C., Moses, D., Xu, Q. H., Heeger, A. J. (2005). Charge-carrier relaxation dynamics in highly ordered poly(p-phenylene vinylene): Effects of carrier bimolecular recombination and trapping. Physical Review B, 72(24), 245204.
- Swensen, J. S., Soci, C., Heeger, A. J. (2005). Light emission from an ambipolar semiconducting polymer field-effect transistor. Applied Physics Letters, 87(25), 253511.
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