Regensburg 2010 – scientific programme

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DS: Fachverband Dünne Schichten

DS 31: Molecular Spintronics - Current Status and Challenges I (Focused Session)

DS 31.2: Topical Talk

Thursday, March 25, 2010, 11:00–11:30, H2

Muon measurements of spin transport and dynamics in organic semiconductors — •Alan Drew — Physics Department, Queen Mary University of London, UK

Organic semiconductors fall into a class of materials that shows significant potential for future applications and as a result, the field is becoming extremely topical. However, there is a lack of suitable techniques that can yield information on intrinsic spin and charge carrier dynamics in organic materials.

Low Energy Muon Spin Rotation can directly measure the depth resolved spin polarisation of charge carriers in organic spin injection devices [1]. Using this technique, it is possible to separate out the various contributions to spin decoherence, differentiating between interface and bulk spacer layer effects. I will present the first direct measurement of spin coherence length and initial polarisation of injected electrons in a realistic and fully functional organic spin valve. Bulk muon techniques can also be used to probe the charge carrier and spin dynamics of organic semiconductors on a molecular lengthscale [2]. I will present measurements of temperature dependent electron spin relaxation rates, on a series of organic molecules of different morphology and molecular structure, which points towards some generality of the underlying spin scattering mechanisms in organic materials [3].

[1] A. J. Drew et al., Nature Materials 8, 109 (2009) [2] A. J. Drew et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 116601 (2008) [3] L. Schulz et al., in preparation