Dc. Jurbergs et al., ELECTROCHEMICAL AND OPTICAL-DEVICES BASED ON MOLECULE HIGH-T-C SUPERCONDUCTOR STRUCTURES, Electrochimica acta, 40(10), 1995, pp. 1319-1329
Through the use of electrochemical and vacuum deposition techniques, m
olecular materials are combined with high-T-c superconductors in order
to fabricate two new classes of hybrid devices. In the first class of
devices, electrochemical methods are utilized to deposit polypyrrole
onto YBa2Cu3O7-delta structures. With such systems, experiments are co
nducted which explore electron transfer events which occur between the
conductive polymer and the high-T-c superconductor at temperatures bo
th above and below T-c. Here it is found that the transition temperatu
re (T-c) of the superconductor is depressed dramatically when polypyrr
ole is oxidized to its conductive form and that it returns to a value
which is close to the original value upon reduction of the polypyrrole
layer to the neutral, nonconductive form. In the second class of devi
ces, the ability of molecular dye layers to affect the optical propert
ies of YBa2Cu3O7-delta photodetectors is demonstrated. By examining ch
anges in the optical and electronic properties of these systems, energ
y transfer processes which occur between molecules and high-T-c superc
onductors are explored. Here it is found that dye layers are able to a
ct as antenna for optical radiation at those wavelengths which the dye
layer absorbs light most strongly.