University of Manchester, Wednesday June 8th 2005

The 2005 meeting represented a half-way stage for the work of the OMEC consortium, which has projects funded into 2007. It offered an excellent opportunity to review the work of the group to date, and discuss progress and new opportunities with leading researchers from around the UK. Furthermore, the meeting allowed UK researchers to place their work into the broader international context, through presentations and discussions with leading researchers from European institutions.

Peter Bauerle (Ulm) introduced the scientific programme with an overview of his group's work on the synthesis of new molecules based on the thiophene theme. The work offered a number of interesting synthetic opportunities leading to novel inter and intra-molecular structures, including conjugated thiophene macrocyclic rings.

Phil Hodge (Manchester) examined the difficulties of preparing technologically useful polymers with the efficient charge-separation properties essential to efficient photovoltaic devices.

Martin Grell (Sheffield) examined the process of converting materials into 'proof of concept' devices. This involves evaluating methods of efficiently getting charge into organic semiconductors, and optimising the properties of dielectric layers. This work extended to the development of efficient organic memory devices, which retain a switched condition for several hours after the gate voltage has been switched off.

Dom Cupertino (Merck) provided an overview of a number of OMEC projects aimed at producing stereo-regular semiconductors, including solid phase synthesis of thiophene oligomers.

Mike Turner (Manchester) looked at a project using high throughput methods to prepare libraries of materials. These were subsequently optimised to give a material with good charge transport and a liquid crystalline phase in which it could be melt-processed within the device. The system gave good structural regularity, without vacuum processing.

The evaluation of the structure of an organic film in a device is not easy, yet the semiconducting properties are strongly dependent upon this. Emyr MacDonald (Cardiff) showed that surface scattering of X-rays could be used to evaluate structure in these films, and how interfaces influenced changes in this structure.

Finally Walter Reiss (IBM Zurich) concluded the meeting by providing an overview of the commercialisation process, with the examples of the development of the OLED display, and single molecule circuitry. His assessment of the likely success of new materials was that it was best if they allowed new products to be manufactured, otherwise cost considerations in comparison to an existing technology became paramount for the material to be able to gain any market share.

Photographs: Left, Walter Reiss (IBM Zurich) explaining how to make electrical contacts with individual molecules - perhaps the next stage of electronics development, due between 2015 and 2030, when physics indicates that current bulk semiconductor technology will hit the buffers. Top right, delegates attending the meeting.

Report: Barry Kaye, CookandKaye

Reports

The two annual reports and the final report for the original OMEC project are available for download:

Reports