Prof. Vladimir Bulovic

Bulovic and his research group studies properties of organic thin films, structures and devices. The fundamental findings are applied to the development of optoelectronic, electronic and photonic organic devices of nanoscale thickness, including visible LEDs, lasers, solar cells, photodetectors, transistors, flexible and transparent optoelectronics. In addition to working on small-molecular-weight vander-Waals-bonded organic thin films, in the future we will also examine polymer solids, self-assembled materials, and hybrid organic/inorganic structures. We aim to reduce the size of active organic layers from the present nano-scale thickness of organic thin films to that of single molecules, with the ultimate goal of probing functionality of single molecules or polymer strands.

Research is focused on deciphering the physical properties that govern behavior of nanostructured materials and applying the findings to development of practical, active technologies. With focus on organic and inorganic-nanocrystal electronic and optoelectronic structures, to date we demonstrated efficient LEDs, lasers, solar cells, photodetectors, transistors, memory cells, and chemical sensors. In addition to working on small-molecular-weight van-der-Waals-bonded organic thin films, we also examine hybrid organic/inorganic structures, polymer solids, and self-assembled materials. Work tends towards the nano-scale where through development of new patterning and materials growth techniques we aim to reduce the size of active device layers from the present nano-scale thickness of organic thin films to that of single molecules or atomic clusters. The ultimate goal is to utilize the nano-scale functionality of molecules, polymers, and inorganic/organic hybrid assemblies in practical nano-scale devices and both small- and large-area integrated systems.