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When a temperature differential is applied across a semiconductor, a thermal voltage develops across it in response. The ratio of this thermal voltage to the applied temperature differential is the Seebeck coefficient, a transport coefficient that complements measurements of electrical and thermal conductivity. The physical interpretation of the Seebeck coefficient is the entropy per charge carrier divided by its charge and is hence a direct measurement of the carrier entropy in the solid state. This PhD thesis has three major outcomes. The first major outcome is a demonstration of how the Seebeck coefficient can be used as a tool to quantify the role of energetic disorder in organic semiconductors. To this end, a microfabricated chip was designed to perform accurate measurements of the Seebeck coefficient within the channel of the active layer in a field-effect transistor (FET). When measured within an FET, the Seebeck coefficient can be modulated using the gate electrode. The extent to which the Seebeck coefficient is modulated gives a clear idea of charge carrier trapping and the distribution of the density of states within the organic semiconductor. The second major outcome of this work is the observation that organic semiconducting polymers show Seebeck coefficients that are temperature independent and strongly gate voltage modulated. The extent to which the Seebeck coefficient is modulated in the polymer PBTTT is found to be larger than that in the polymer IDTBT. Taken together with conventional charge transport measurements on IDTBT, the voltage modulated Seebeck coefficient confirms the existence of a vanishingly small energetic disorder in this material. In the third and final outcome of this thesis, the magnitude of the Seebeck coefficient is shown to be larger for organic small molecules as compared to organic polymers. The basis for this is not yet clear. There are reports that such an observation is substantiated through a larger contribution from vibrational entropy that adds to the so called entropy-of-mixing contribution so as to boost the magnitude of the Seebeck coefficient in organic small molecules. As of now, this remains an open question and is a potential starting point for future work. The practical implications of this PhD thesis lie in building cost-effective and environmentally friendly waste-heat to useful energy converters based on organic polymers. The efficiency of heat to energy conversion by organic polymers tends to be higher than that for conventional semiconductors owing to the presence of narrow bands in organic polymer semiconductors.

This doctoral thesis is focused on the analysis of transport characteristics of submicron and micron transistors MOSFET. The assumption is a constant gradient of concentration, which leads to the fact that the diffusion current density is independent of the distance from the source. Active energy was determined from temperature dependence. The proposed physical model made it possible to determine the value of access resistance between drain and source their temperature dependence. Based on the assumption that the divergence of the gradient of the current density in the channel is zero. IV characteristics of the transistor MOSFET are derived and conducted experimental monitoring current channel depending on the collector voltage for the series of samples with different channel lengths in a wide temperature range from 10 to 350 K. Information on the concentration of charge transport in the channel and the position of the Fermi level at the point of active trap, which is the source of RTS noise, is obtained from the analysis of the transport characteristics. Determining the concentration of charge transport and the position of the Fermi level is important because these variables determine the intensity of quantum transitions and their values are not the same throughout the length of the channel. It was experimentally proved from the analysis of the characteristics of RTS noise that concentration at the local channel decreases with increasing current at a constant voltage on the gate and a variable voltage at the collector. Further, the position of active traps of RTS noise was intended and it was found that this is located near the collector. Active trap is located at the point where the Fermi level coincides with energy level of the traps.

Transparent conductive oxides (TCOs) are key functional materials in existing and future electro-optical devices in the fields of energy efficiency, energy generation and information technology. The main application of TCOs is as thin films transparent electrodes where a combination of maximum electrical conductivity and transmittance in the visible to nearinfrared spectral range is required. However, due to the interdependence of the optical properties and the free electron density and mobility, respectively, these requirements cannot be achieved simultaneously in degenerately doped wide band-gap oxide semiconductors. Therefore, a detailed understanding of the mechanisms governing the generation of free charge carriers by extrinsic doping and the charge transport in these materials is essential for further development of high performance TCOs and corresponding deposition methods. The present work is aimed at a comprehensive investigation of the electrical, optical and structural properties as well as the elemental composition of (Al,Ga) doped ZnO and Nb doped TiO2 thin films prepared by pulsed DC reactive magnetron sputtering. The evolution of the film properties is studied in dependence of various deposition parameters through a combination of characterization techniques including Hall-effect, spectroscopic ellipsometry, spectral photometry, X-ray diffraction, X-ray near edge absorption, Rutherford backscattering spectrometry and particle induced X-ray emission. This approach resulted in the development of an alternative process control method based on the material specific current-voltage pressure characteristics of the reactive magnetron discharge which allows to precisely control the oxygen deficiency of the sputter deposited films. Based on the experimental data, models have been established that describe the room temperature charge transport properties and the dielectric function of the obtained ZnO and TiO2 based transparent conductors. On the one hand, these findings allow the prediction of material specific electron mobility limits by identifying the dominating charge carrier scattering mechanisms. On the other hand, new insight is gained into the origin of the observed transition from highly conductive to electrically insulating ZnO layers upon the incorporation of increasing concentrations of Al at elevated growth temperatures. Moreover, the Al and Ga dopant activation in ZnO have been quantified systematically for a wide range of Al concentrations and deposition conditions. A direct comparison of the Ga and Al doping efficiency demonstrates that Ga is a more efficient electron donor in ZnO. Further, it has been shown that high free electron mobilities in polycrystalline and epitaxial Nb:TiO2 layers can be achieved by reactive magnetron sputtering of TiNb alloy targets. The suppression of rutile phase formation and the control of the Nb dopant activation by fine tuning the oxygen deficiency have been identified as crucial for the growth of high quality TiO2 based TCO layers.

Ultra-cold atoms in optical lattices provide a versatile and robust platform to study fundamental condensed-matter physics problems and have applications in quantum optics as well as quantum information processing. For many of these applications, Rydberg atoms (atoms excited to large principal quantum numbers) are ideal due to its long coherence times and strong interactions. However, one of the pre-requisite for such applications is identical confinement of ground state atoms with Rydberg atoms. This is challenging for conventionally used alkali atoms. In this thesis, I discuss the potential of using alkaline-earth Rydberg atoms for many-body physics by implementing simultaneous trapping for the relevant internal states. In particular, I consider a scheme for generating multi-particle entanglement and explore charge transport in a one dimensional atomic lattice.

Semiconducting two-dimensional (2D) materials have gained considerable attention in recent years owing to their potential in future electronics. On the one hand, the conventional 2D semiconductors, such as transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs (MoS2, WS2, etc.) are being exhaustively studied, on the other hand, search for novel 2D materials is at a rapid pace. In this thesis, we explore 2D materials beyond graphene and TMDCs in terms of their intrinsic electronic properties and underlying charge transport mechanisms. We introduce 2D semiconducting materials of indium selenide (InSe) and gallium selenide (GaSe), and a novel π-d conjugated Fe3(THT)2(NH4)3 metal-organic framework (MOF) as potential candidates for their use as active elements in (opto)electronic applications. Owing to the air-sensitivity of InSe and GaSe, their integration into active devices has been severely constrained. Here, we report a hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) based encapsulation, where 2D layers of InSe and GaSe are sandwiched between two layers of hBN; top hBN passivating the 2D layer from the environment and bottom hBN acting as a spacer and suppressing charge transfer to the 2D layer from the SiO2 substrate. To fabricate the devices from fully encapsulated InSe and GaSe layers, we employ the technique of lithography-free via-contacts, which are metal contacts embedded within hBN flakes. Based on our results, we find that full hBN encapsulation preserves InSe in its pristine form and suppresses its degradation with time. Consequently, the electronic properties of encapsulated InSe devices are significantly improved, leading to a mobility of 30–120 cm2 V−1 s−1 as compared to a mere ∼1 cm2 V−1 s−1 obtained for unencapsulated devices. In addition, encapsulated InSe devices are stable for a prolonged period of time, overcoming their limitation to be air-sensitive. On employing full hBN encapsulation to GaSe, a high photoresponsivity of 84.2 A W−1 at 405 nm is obtained. The full hBN encapsulation technique passivates the air-sensitive layers from various degrading factors and preserves their unaltered properties. In the future, this technique can be applied to other 2D materials that have been restricted so far in their fundamental study and applications due to their environmental sensitivity. MOFs are another emerging class of semiconducting 2D materials investigated in this thesis. They are hybrid materials that consist of metal ions connected with organic ligands via coordination bonds. In recent years, advances in synthetic approaches have led to the development of electrically conductive MOFs as a new generation of electronic materials. However, to date, poor mobilities and hopping-type charge transport dominant in these materials have prevented them from being considered for electronic applications. In this work, we investigate a newly developed π-d conjugated Fe3(THT)2(NH4)3 (THT: 2,3,6,7,10,11-hexathioltriphenylene) MOF. The MOF films are characterized with a direct bandgap lying in the infrared (IR) region. By employing Hall-effect measurements, we demonstrate band-like transport and a record-high mobility of 230 cm2 V−1 s−1 in Fe3(THT)2(NH4)3 MOF films. The temperature-dependent conductivity confirms a thermally activated charge carrier population in the samples induced by the small bandgap of the analyzed MOFs. Following these results, we demonstrate the feasibility of using this high-mobility semiconducting MOF as an active material in thin-film optoelectronic devices. The MOF photodetectors fabricated in this work are capable of detecting wavelengths from UV to NIR (400–1575 nm). The narrow IR bandgap of the active layer constrains the performance of the photodetector at room temperature by band-to-band thermal excitation of the charge carriers. At 77 K, the device performance is significantly improved; two orders of magnitude higher voltage responsivity, lower noise equivalent power, and higher specific detectivity of 7 × 10^8 cm Hz1/2 W−1 are achieved at 785 nm excitation, which is a direct consequence of suppressing the thermal generation of charge carriers across the bandgap. These figures of merit are retained over the analyzed spectral region (400–1575 nm) and are comparable to those obtained with the first demonstrations of graphene and black phosphorus based photodetectors, thus, revealing a promising application of MOFs in optoelectronics. / Zweidimensionale (2D) Halbleiter haben dank ihres Potenzials für elektronische Anwendungen in den letzten Jahren große Aufmerksamkeit erregt. Dabei werden einerseits konventionelle 2D-Materialien, wie die Übergangsmetall-Chalkogenide (TMDCs) (MoS2, WS2, usw.) intensiv erforscht. Andererseits schreitet auch die Suche nach neuen 2D-Materialien rasch voran. Diese Dissertation stellt Forschungsergebnisse zu elektrischen Eigenschaften und den zugrundeliegenden Ladungstransportmechanismen von 2D-Materialien jenseits von Graphen und TMDCs vor. Untersucht wurden die 2D-Halbleiter Indiumselenid (InSe) und Galliumselenid (GaSe), sowie eine neuartige π-d konjugierte Metallorganische Gerüstverbindung (Metal-Organic Framework, MOF) Fe3(THT)2(NH4)3. Diese Materialien sind vielversprechende Kandidaten für elektronische und optoelektronische Anwendungen. InSe und GaSe sind besonders luftempfindliche Materialien. Aus diesem Grund ist ihre Verwendung für aktive Bauteile trotz ihrer hervorragenden elektrischen Eigenschaften bis heute sehr begrenzt. In dieser Arbeit wird ein effektives Verkapselungsverfahren vorstellt, bei dem InSe- oder GaSe-2D-Schichten zwischen zwei Schichten aus hexagonalem Bornitrid (hBN) eingebettet werden. Die untere Schicht hBN isoliert das Material vom Substrat Siliziumdioxid (SiO2), während die obere Schicht das 2D-Material luftdicht isoliert. Um Bauteile aus komplett eingekapseltem InSe oder GaSe herzustellen, wurden lithographiefreie, sogenannte via-Kontakte hergestellt. Dies sind Metallkontakte, die bereits vor der Verkapselung in die hBN-Schichten integriert werden. Die hBN-Verkapselung erhält InSe in seiner ursprünglichen Form. Die hier vorgestellten Ergebnisse zeigen, dass sich die elektronischen Eigenschaften von InSe durch Verkapselung signifikant verbessern, was zu elektrischen Mobilitäten von 30–120 cm2 V−1 s−1 gegenüber nur rund ∼1 cm2 V−1 s−1 in unverkapselten Bauteilen führt. Darüber hinaus bleiben die Eigenschaften der verkapselten InSe-Bauteile über einen langen Zeitraum erhalten und degradieren nicht mehr bei Kontakt mit Luft. Die Verkapselung von GaSe ermöglicht den Einsatz in Fotodetektoren, bei einer Wellenlänge von 405 nm wird eine Fotoempfindlichkeit von 84.2 A W−1 gemessen; auch hier bewahrt die Verkapselung die empfindlichen Schichten vor schädlichen Einflüssen und konserviert so ihre unveränderten Eigenschaften. In der Zukunft kann diese Technik auch für andere 2D-Materialien eingesetzt werden, insbesondere für solche, deren Erforschung und Anwendung durch die große Empfindlichkeit bis heute eingeschränkt ist. Darüber hinaus untersucht diese Dissertation mit Metallorganischen Gerüstverbindungen (MOFs) eine zweite Klasse halbleitender 2D-Materialien. MOFs sind hybride Materialien aus Metallionen, die mit organischen Molekülen als Verbindungselementen eine meist kristalline Struktur bilden. In den letzten Jahren haben Fortschritte in der synthetischen Herstellung zur Entwicklung von elektronisch leitfähigen MOFs geführt. Die niedrige Mobilität und der sogenannte hopping-Ladungstransport der gängigsten MOFs haben jedoch verhindert, dass diese für Anwendungen betrachtet wurden. In dieser Arbeit wird eine kürzlich neu entwickelte, π-d-konjugierte Fe3(THT)2(NH4)3 (THT: 2,3,6,7,10,11-hexathioltriphenylene) MOF vorgestellt. Der MOF Film hat eine direkte Bandlücke im Infrarot(IR)-Bereich liegend. Mithilfe von Hall-Effekt-Messungen wurde gezeigt, dass der Transport in den Fe3(THT)2(NH4)3 MOF Filmen mit dem Drude-Modell konsistent ist. Darüber hinaus wird eine bis jetzt nicht übertroffene Mobilität von 230 cm2 V−1 s−1 gemessen. Die Temperaturabhängigkeit der Leitfähigkeit bestätigt, dass die kleine Bandlücke zu thermisch aktivierten Ladungstragerdichten in den Proben führt. Auf Grundlage dieser Ergebnisse wird die Machbarkeit von hochmobilen halbleitenden Fe3(THT)2(NH4)3 MOFs als aktives Material in dünnen optoelektronischen Bauteilen gezeigt. Die hier vorgestellten MOF Fotodetektoren reagieren auf Wellenlängen im UV bis Nahinfrarotspektrum (400–1575 nm). Die schmale Bandlücke schränkt die Leistung des Fotodetektors bei Raumtemperatur durch thermische Band-zu-Band-Anregung der Ladungsträger ein. Bei einer Temperatur von 77 K verbessert sich die Leistung des Detektors signifikant: Bei 785 nm wird eine um zwei Größenordnungen erhöhte Spannungsempfindlichkeit, eine niedrigere äquivalente Rauschleistung sowie eine höhere spezifische Empfindlichkeit von 7 × 10^8 cm Hz1/2 W−1 erhalten. Dies ist eine direkte Konsequenz der Unterdrückung thermischer Anregung von Ladungsträgern über die Bandlücke. Diese Leistungszahlen sind über das analysierte Spektrum (400–1575 nm) gültig und vergleichbar mit den ersten Fotodetektoren auf Grundlage von Graphen und Schwarzem Phosphor. Die Ergebnisse zeigen deutlich das Potenzial von MOFs für optoelektronische Anwendungen.

The development of layer-oriented two-dimensional conjugated metal-organic frameworks (2D c-MOFs) enables an access to direct charge transport, dial-in lateral/vertical electronic devices and unveil transport mechanisms, but remains a significant synthetic challenge. Here we report the novel synthesis of metal-phthalocyanine-based p-type semiconducting 2D c-MOF films (Cu2[PcM-O8], M=Cu or Fe) with an unprecedented edge-on layer-orientation at the air/water interface. The edge-on structure for-mation is guided by the pre-organization of metal-phthalocyanine ligands, whose basal plane is perpendicular to the water surface due to their π-π interaction and hydrophobicity. Benefiting from the unique layer orientation, we are able to investigate the lateral and vertical conductivities by DC methods, and thus demonstrate an anisotropic charge transport in the resulting Cu2[PcCu-O8] film. The directional conductivity studies combined with theoretical calculation identify that the intrinsic conductivity is dominated by charge transfer along the interlayer pathway. Moreover, a macroscopic (cm2-size) Hall-effect measurement reveals a Hall mobility of ~4.4 cm2 V-1 s-1 for the obtained Cu2[PcCu-O8] film. The orientation control in semiconducting 2D c-MOFs will enable the develop-ment of various optoelectronic applications and the exploration of unique transport properties.

Organic π-conjugated solids are promising candidates for new optoelectronic materials. The large body of evidence points at their advantageous properties such as high charge-carrier mobility, large nonlinear polarizability, mechanical flexibility, simple and low cost fabrication and superior luminescence. They can be used as nonlinear optical (NLO) materials with large two-photon absorption (2PA) and as electronic components capable of generating nonlinear neutral (excitonic) and charged (polaronic) excitations. In this work, we investigate the appropriate theoretical methods used for the (a) prediction of 2PA properties for rational design of organic materials with improved NLO properties, and (b) understanding of the essential electronic excitations controlling the energy-transfer and charge-transport properties in organic optoelectronics. Accurate prediction of these electro-optical properties is helpful for structureactivity relationships useful for technological innovations. In Chapter 1 we emphasize on the potential use of the organic materials for these two applications. The 2PA process is advantageous over one-photon absorption for deep-tissue fluorescence microscopy, photodynamic therapy, microfabrication and optical data storage owing to the three-dimensional spatial selectivity and improved penetration depth in the absorbing or scattering media. The design of the NLO materials with large 2PA cross-sections may reduce the optical damage due to the use of the high intensity laser beams for excitation. The organic molecules also possess self-localized excited states which can decay radiatively or nonradiatively to form excitonic states. This suggests the use of these materials in the electroluminescent devices such as light-emitting diodes and photovoltaic cells through the processes of exciton formation or dissociation, respectively. It is therefore necessary to understand ultrafast relaxation processes required in understanding the interplay between the iv efficient radiative transfer between the excited states and exciton dissociation into polarons for improving the efficiency of these devices. In Chapter 2, we provide the detailed description of the various theoretical methods applied for the prediction as well as the interpretation of the optical properties of a special class of substituted PPV [poly (p-phenylene vinylene)] oligomers. In Chapter 3, we report the accuracy of different second and third order time dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) formalisms in prediction of the 2PA spectra compared to the experimental measurements for donor-acceptor PPV derivatives. We recommend a posteriori Tamm-Dancoff approximation method for both qualitative and quantitative analysis of 2PA properties. Whereas, Agren's quadratic response methods lack the double excitations and are not suitable for the qualitative analysis of the state-specific contributions distorting the overall quality of the 2PA predictions. We trace the reasons to the artifactual excited states above the ionization threshold. We also study the effect of the basis set, geometrical constraints and the orbital exchange fraction on the 2PA excitation energies and cross-sections. Higher exchange (BMK and M05-2X) and range-separated (CAM-B3LYP) hybrid functionals are found to yield inaccurate predictions both quantitatively and qualitatively. The failure of the exchangecorrelation (XC) functionals with correct asymptotic is traced to the inaccurate transition dipoles between the valence states, where functionals with low HF exchange succeed. In Chapter 4, we test the performance of different semiempirical wavefunction theory methods for the prediction of 2PA properties compared to the DFT results for the same set of molecules. The spectroscopic parameterized (ZINDO/S) method is relatively better than the general purpose parameterized (PM6) method but the accuracy is trailing behind the DFT methods. The poor performances of PM6 and ZINDO/S methods are attributed to the incorrect description of excited-to-excited state transition and 2PA energies, respectively. The different v semiempirical parameterizations can at best be used for quantitative analysis of the 2PA properties. The ZINDO/S method combined with different orders of multi-reference configuration interactions provide an improved description of 2PA properties. However, the results are observed to be highly dependent on the specific choice for the active space, order of excitation and reference configurations. In Chapter 5, we present a linear response TD-DFT study to benchmark the ability of existing functional models to describe the extent of self-trapped neutral and charged excitations in PPV and its derivative MEH-PPV considered in their trans-isomeric forms. The electronic excitations in question include the lowest singlet (S1) and triplet (T1 † ) excitons, positive (P+ ) and negative (P- ) polarons and the lowest triplet (T1) states. Use of the long-range-corrected DFT functional, such as LC-wPBE, is found to be crucial in order to predict the physically correct spatial localization of all the electronic excitations in agreement with experiment. The inclusion of polarizable dielectric environment play an important role for the charged states. The particlehole symmetry is preserved for both the polymers in trans geometries. These studies indicate two distinct origins leading to self-localization of electronic excitations. Firstly, distortion of molecular geometry may create a spatially localized potential energy well where the state wavefunction self-traps. Secondly, even in the absence of geometric and vibrational dynamics, the excitation may become spatially confined due to energy stabilization caused by polarization effects from surrounding dielectric medium. In Chapter 6, we aim to separate these two fundamental sources of spatial localization. We observe the electronic localization of P + and Pis determined by the polarization effects of the surrounding media and the character of the DFT functional. In contrast, the self-trapping of the electronic wavefunctions of S1 and T1(T1 † ) mostly follows their lattice distortions. Geometry vi relaxation plays an important role in the localization of the S1 and T1 † excitons owing to the nonvariational construction of the excited state wavefunction. While, mean-field calculated P + , Pand T1 states are always spatially localized even in ground state S0 geometry. Polaron P+ and Pformation is signified by the presence of the localized states for the hole or the electron deep inside the HOMO-LUMO gap of the oligomer as a result of the orbital stabilization at the LCwPBE level. The broadening of the HOMO-LUMO band gap for the T1 exciton compared to the charged states is associated with the inverted bond length alternation observed at this level. The molecular orbital energetics are investigated to identify the relationships between state localization and the corresponding orbital structure. In Chapter 7, we investigate the effect of various conformational defects of trans and cis nature on the energetics and localization of the charged P + and Pexcitations in PPV and MEHPPV. We observe that the extent of self-trapping for P+ and Ppolarons is highly sensitive on molecular and structural conformations, and distribution of atomic charges within the polymers. The particle-hole symmetry is broken with the introduction of trans defects and inclusion of the polarizable environment in consistent with experiment. The differences in the behavior of PPV and MEH-PPV is rationalized based on their orbital energetics and atomic charge distributions. We show these isomeric defects influence the behavior and drift mobilities of the charge carriers in substituted PPVs.

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