One of our recent scientific pursuits included a visit of Prof. Stefan Mannsfeld, Postdoc Mike Hambsch and PhD student Rishi Shivare to the Synchrotron Light Source (ELETTRA) based in Trieste, Italy. The main motivation to visit such a research facility is the opportunity to work with intensely bright x-ray radiation.

In our case, we examined a wide range of organic semiconductors, using wide and small angle x-ray scattering. It lets us probe molecular and mesoscale structure of molecules and better understand how structural modifications affect device performance (for example in organic field effect transistors and solar cells). Doing experiments at a synchrotron is truly a unique experience, it is fascinating to see hundreds of scientists working round the clock.