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FemtoMat

FemtoMat

Who we are

We are a young and dynamic research group based in Bern, Switzerland, and led by Prof. Natalie Banerji. In our group, chemists as well as physicists and material scientists work side by side to understand and optimize electronic devices based on organic electronic materials. In addition, we combine the best of two worlds by welcoming researchers from all over the world and by teaching local students from Bern.

This combination of different backgrounds and experiences forms a powerful symbiosis that enables us to understand the underlying principles of charge transport in the materials we study.

Our research interests

Our objective is to understand fundamental material properties (e.g., light–matter interactions, electron transfer processes, charge transport, molecular recognition) of organic and hybrid semiconductors, with applications in new generation solar cells, organic transistors, and organic bioelectronics. The current gap between missing fundamental understanding and the blind development of applications needs to be filled in order to achieve intelligent design of high-performance devices.

Our research revolves around the central question of what happens on the ultrashort time scale and ultrasmall length scale in organic solids to induce macroscopic function in devices, and how this can be optimized. Experimentally, we use a complementary palette of techniques combining (time-resolved) spectroscopy, pulsed photocurrent methods, terahertz experiments, Stark-effect spectroscopy, and device testing.

News

  • Call for a PostDoc and a PhD student

    Call for a PostDoc and a PhD student

    We are happy to announce that we can fill a Post-Doctoral Position in SFG Spectroscopy as well as a PhD Position in Spectroscopy of OPVs! To get more information about the job offers, you can click on their titles. Interested? You can apply directly by contacting Natalie Banerji! We are looking forward to receiving your […]

  • New research published!

    New research published!

    We are delighted to announce our new publication by Isabelle. Our focus in this study was on the dynamics of the IDTBT polymers with different polar content. Thanks to Christian Nielsen for realizing this project!

  • New research published!

    New research published!

    We are excited to share some of our latest research with you! Kejun investigated a new polypyrrole-based quasi-2D polymer and found different charge transport properties depending on temperature and distance regime.

  • FemtoMat now also on Mastodon!

    FemtoMat now also on Mastodon!

    FemtoMat is now also available on Mastodon! Check out our profile there: https://sciences.social/@femtomat From now on, we will provide you with news about our group and our latest research outcomes on this website as well as X and Mastodon.

  • FemtoMat group raclette

    FemtoMat group raclette

    We all really enjoyed this year’s group raclette evening hosted by Natalie! Thanks for the invitation and the nice evening full of fruitful conversations and lots of cheese!

  • Marco and Basil defended their Master thesis at this year’s Mini Master Symposium

    Marco and Basil defended their Master thesis at this year’s Mini Master Symposium

    Today, our Master students Marco and Basil presented the results of their Master projects in this year’s Mini Master Symposium. Marco showed us his findings from spectro-electrochemistry on the novel semiconducting polymer PE2OE4 while Basil presented his work on chemical doping of the glycolated organic semiconductor PBTTT. Thanks to you for the very nice presentations! […]

  • Introducing Dr. Kaila Yallum

    Introducing Dr. Kaila Yallum

    We are thrilled to announce that Kaila successfully defended her PhD thesis on the spectroscopic investigation of non-fullerene acceptors! What a wonderful contribution to the field of organic photovoltaics!

  • Kaila and Isabelle present at MRS Fall Meeting in Boston

    Kaila and Isabelle present at MRS Fall Meeting in Boston

    Kaila and Isabelle represented our group at this year’s MRS Fall Meeting in Boston. Kaila gave a talk about noise suppression in pump–probe spectroscopy while Isabelle presented her work on the enhancement of charge transport properties in organic mixed ionic-electronic conductors. Thanks to both of you for the wonderful talks!

  • Paul Meredith visited FemtoMat

    Paul Meredith visited FemtoMat

    We had a wonderful visit and enthusiastic talk from Paul Meredith during his visit to FemtoMat!

  • Group Excursion to Lavaux

    Group Excursion to Lavaux

    We had a beautiful excursion to Lavaux! Nothing inspires science like fresh air, lake swimming, and a walk in the vineyards!