Ultrafast electron dynamics in disordered organic and inorganic semiconductors studied by time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy

Abstract

Time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy is a contact-free technique allowing studies of microscopic photoconductivity spectra with sub-picosecond time resolution. We will benefit from this unique property of time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy to investigate and characterize the photoinitiated transport of electrons and holes on the femto- and pico-second time-scales. The investigated materials will include both physical and chemical systems with a lack of a long-scale ordering. The studies will focus on semiconducting polymers, dye-sensitized semiconductor nanostructures, and amorphous, nanocrystalline and microcrystalline inorganic semiconductors which are altogether prospective base materials for fabrication of cheap solar cells. Models of the ultrafast spectral response in the far-infrared region will be developed to gain a deeper insight into the initial stages of the charge transport.