| Abstract Note | Polymer or plastic electronics offers the promise of a new kind of semiconductor industry; one where materials are easily processed and devices are cheap and, in some cases, even flexible. Polymers can be used in transistor circuitry (chips), sensors, RFID tags, electrochromic windows, and optoelectronic devices such as those used in lighting or photovoltaic (solar) cells. This book presents a coherent introduction to polymer electronics, and in particular the underlying physics of polymer devices. Differences with conventional (silicon-based) electronics are highlighted, so that the main concepts can be treated clearly. Polyacetylene, the archetypal semiconducting polymer, is used to begin the discussion, but other important classes of polymer are also introduced. The interaction of polymers with light, and charge transport are treated carefully in separate chapters. Semiconducting polymers is an interdisciplinary field in which physicists and chemists work together, so a chapter on the synthesis of different kinds of polymer is included. As well as chemistry, the important physics of polymers is also covered, as is the importance of surfaces, because most devices are, after all, thin films. The book concludes with the physics encompassing the most important devices: transistors, light-emitting diodes, and photovolatic cells. |