The field of organic optical materials is rapidly growing, and advances are being made both in attaining a deeper understanding of device phenomena and in designing improved materials for thin films, fibers and waveguides. This book offers an interdisciplinary discussion of research on electronic and photonic devices made with organic and polymeric materials. The 1999 MRS Spring Meeting was highlighted by several major advances in fields ranging from nonlinear absorbers and electro-optic polymers, to photorefractive polymers, organic transistors and electroluminescent materials and devices for displays. This book highlights developments in materials chemistry and physics relevant to such devices and strikes a balance between basic science and technology. Topics include: nonlinear optical materials; photorefractive polymers; and electronic and light-emitting materials.

The field of organic semiconductors has seen much development in the past years. Displays based on light-emitting diodes made of small organic molecules as well as polymers, have recently been commercialized. Other applications, such as electronic circuits for tagging, efficient photovoltaic devices and biosensors, have already been demonstrated. This volume brings together a "wish list" of leading researchers in the fields of chemistry, physics and technology of organic devices. Novel device concepts such as charge-generation layers, metal complexes and the use of heterojunctions are presented and should lead to further improvement in the efficiency of organic light-emitting diodes. In the field of organic transistors, major progress is reported on the charge-transport properties of organic semiconductors; mobilities up to 5cm2/Vs are reported for pentacene-based transistors. High mobility n-type materials, which enable the development of ambipolar organic electronic circuits, are also discussed. And new approaches to fully printable displays on substrates, such as textiles and paper, are presented. These may lead the way to new applications of organic optoelectronic devices.