A recent development in the time-resolved microwave conductivity technique
is the ability to study photogenerated charge carriers in thin polymer film
s (of only a few tens of nanometres thickness). This brings the experimenta
l conditions much closer to those in device applications, while circumventi
ng the problems associated with applying electrode contacts. A variety of s
amples (including polythiophene, poly(phenylene-vinylene) and polyfluorene
derivatives) has been investigated.