Title: Semiconductor device physics plus electrochemistry
Prof. Nir Tessler of Technion Israel Institute of Technology
2-3 PM - September 9, 2024
CHB102
Hosted by David Ginger

Abstract: Our working hypothesis is that one can devise a semiconductor device model that will be useful in understanding electrochemical devices. We started with the inevitable electrochemistry found in perovskite solar cells, continued towards CMOS-compatible electrochemical RAM (ECRAM) and organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs), and will probably reach batteries in the future. Our main conclusion is that we lose a significant part of our intuitive understanding of the devices when moving from two charge carriers to four (electron, hole, anion, cation) and their mutual reactions. 

To demonstrate the above, I will touch on solar cells, discuss ECRAM, and spend most of the talk on OECTs. All that I will discuss will be viewed through the “eyes” of a 2D semiconductor device model that incorporates electrochemistry. 

As a teaser, we found that ion-plating may occur in ECRAM devices and that the Bernards-Malliaras model for OECTs is an excellent first-order description that must be revisited.