Material properties and applications of blended organic thin films with nanoscale domains deposited by RIR-MAPLE

Resonant-infrared, matrix-assisted pulsed laser evaporation (RIR-MAPLE) has been used to deposit blended, organic thin-films with nanoscale domain sizes of constituent polymers, small molecules, or colloidal nanoparticles. In the emulsion-based RIR-MAPLE process, the target contains a nonpolar, organic solvent phase and a polar, water phase. The emulsion properties have a direct impact on the nanoscale morphology of single-component organic thin films, while the morphology of blended, organic thin films also depends on the RIR-MAPLE deposition mode. In addition to these fundamental aspects, applications of blended organic films (organic solar cells, anti-reflection coatings, and multi-functional surfaces) deposited by emulsion-based RIR-MAPLE are presented. Importantly, domain sizes in the blended films are critical to thin-film functionality.