Organic semiconductor crystals grown vertically for first time

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- Semiconductors are the backbone of modern electronics -- tablets, smartphones, laptops, medical equipment, high-tech sensors, solar cells and more.

Soon, the those semiconductors could be more powerful and efficient, thanks to a breakthrough by scientists at the UCLA's California NanoSystems Institute. Materials scientists there have found a way to grow a type of organic semiconductor crystals vertically, a first.

The semiconductor material tetraaniline is prized by electronics engineers for its unique electrical and chemical characteristics.

Now, scientists have enhanced those characteristics by growing tetraaniline crystals vertically in a graphene substrate -- a single layer of carbon atoms. Currently, semiconducting crystals are grown horizontally within an inorganic substrate like silicon.

The breakthrough, scientists say, was made possible by the perfect combination of tetraaniline solution and vertical organic substrate.

"The key was deciphering the interactions between organic semiconductors and graphene in various solvent environments," Yue "Jessica" Wang said in a press release. "Once we understood this complex mechanism, growing vertical organic crystals became simple."

Wang, a former UCLA doctoral student and now a postdoctoral scholar at Stanford, is the lead author of a new paper on the breakthrough -- published this week in the journal ACS Nano.

Wang and her research partners say the tiny vertical crystals can be packed more efficiently, one on top of the other, making for a more powerful electricity-controlling semiconductor. The technology will allow scientists to grow semiconductor crystals in a variety of new shapes and intricate patterns, and could even change the shape of solar panels, with tube-like cells capturing solar energy from all directions.

"These crystals are analogous to organizing a table covered with scattered pencils into a pencil cup," explained Wang. "The vertical orientation can save a great deal of space, and that can mean smaller, more efficient personal electronics in the near future."