Quantum Leap: Pioneering Exciton Imaging Transforms Semiconductor Science

New imaging technique reveals exciton dynamics in organic semiconductors, offering insights into their quantum properties and potential for improving energy conversion materials.

From solar panels on our roofs to the new OLED TV screens, many everyday electronic devices simply wouldn’t work without the interaction between light and the materials that make up semiconductors. A new category of semiconductors is based on organic molecules, which largely consist of carbon, such as buckminsterfullerene. The way organic semiconductors work is largely determined by their behavior in the first few moments after light excites electrons, forming “excitons” in the material.