Prof. Brendan O’Connor Speaks at ORaCEL Seminar on Monday, November 5 at 11:00 AM
The Importance of Mechanics in Organic Electronics
Prof. Brendan O’Connor
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, and ORaCEL, NCSU.
E-mail: brendan_oconnor@ncsu.edu
Group Website
Date: Monday November 5, 2018
Venue: Toxicology Auditorium 2104
Time: 11:00 AM.
Abstract
In many proposed applications of organic electronics it is important that the devices are flexible or even stretchable. This includes applications in rollable displays and solar cells, bio-integrated sensors, wearables, and more generally the internet of things (IoT). For these applications to be successful, the fabricated devices must function while being under significant mechanical loads. While organic semiconductors are generally considered “soft” and “flexible”, their mechanical behavior can actually vary widely, and understanding the mechanics of these materials in greater detail is necessary to ensure robust operation. In addition, understanding the thermomechanical properties of organic semiconductors provides another level of insight beyond devices withstanding stress and strain. By capturing detailed viscoelastic properties of these materials insights into processing, solid state morphology, and morphological stability can also be made. Thus mechanics of organic electronics has broad implications from fundamental science to device engineering. In this talk, I will discuss various activities in our research group related to this spectrum of mechanics research. Topics covered will include studying the thermomechanical properties of polymer semiconductors, development of stretchable polymer semiconductors and devices, and mechanical stability of films and devices for flexible and stretchable applications.
Biography: Brendan O’Connor is an Associate Professor in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at NC State University. Prior to joining NC State in 2011, he was a NRC-NIST Postdoctoral Fellow at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in the Polymers Division. He received his PhD degree from the University of Michigan, his MS degree from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and his BS degree from Marquette University, all in Mechanical Engineering.
