Polymer Electronics: From Doping Fundamentals to Brain-Inspired Computing Devices

Simone Fabiano

Laboratory of Organic Electronics, Department of Science and Technology,

Linköping University, Norrköping SE-60174, Sweden 

E-mail: simone.fabiano@liu.se

Advances in polymer electronics are closely linked to innovations in doping techniques. Traditional methods for doping organic semiconductors often rely on strong oxidizing agents, which can result in challenges such as suboptimal film morphology and reduced device stability. In this presentation, I will address these limitations by exploring novel doping strategies that utilize weak dopants and catalytic methods to achieve controlled p-/n-doping under mild conditions. Additionally, I will discuss our research on organic mixed ionic-electronic conductors, with a focus on organic electrochemical transistors as tools for electrochemically controlling charge transport in these materials. I will highlight the significance of ladder-type polymers with rigid backbones for enhanced stability and performance, demonstrating their potential in organic electrochemical devices that mimic neural functions and advance brain-inspired computing. Together, these developments pave the way for versatile polymer electronics primed for future energy harvesting and bioelectronic applications.

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Biography

Simone Fabiano is an associate professor of material science and a docent in applied physics at Linköping University, Sweden. He obtained his PhD in Chemistry from the University of Palermo in 2012. During his doctoral studies, he was a visiting scholar at the Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials of the University of Groningen, The Netherlands. He then held postdoctoral positions at both Linköping University (2012-2015) and Northwestern University (2016-2017) before returning to Linköping University to establish his research group. In 2020, he founded n-Ink AB, a spinout company that focuses on developing n-type organic conductive inks, where he serves as the Chief Scientific Officer. His research group at Linköping University primarily focuses on developing novel doping strategies and organic mixed ionic-electronic conductors for printed electronics and neuromorphic hardware applications. He has received several awards, including the VR Starting Grant (2017) and Consolidator Grant (2023), the Wallenberg Academy Fellow Award (2021), and the ERC Consolidator Grant (2023).