Solution coatable insulators capable of unipolar photoinjected carrier
transport with negligible loss of transiting charge to deep traps are
required for the fabrication of organic electrophotographic receptors
. Molecularly designed polymeric insulators with these characteristics
can now be routinely synthesized. Such trap-free polymer films provid
e a unique venue for the study of contact and interface behavior. A te
st for distinguishing ohmic from emission limited contact behavior whi
ch exploits the availability of these polymers is described. The test
involves direct comparison of dark injection transients excited by app
lication of a voltage step to the contact under investigation, with sm
all signal time-of-flight transients photoexcited by laser pulse irrad
iation through a semitransparent blocking contact on the opposite face
of the same specimen film.