Johannes Canisius, who holds a doctorate in chemistry, works
day-in, day-out on the development of new, highly complex
molecules. Nevertheless, it’s still relatively easy for him to
explain why this work is important. After all, most people
understand the advantages of an inkjet printer: It prints on
paper, which is lightweight and flexible, at low costs. The R&D
Department Head Organic Electronics wants to use this printing
technique for the production of transistors. These electronic
switches play a crucial role in controlling flat-panel displays,
for example, for which Merck supplies the liquid crystals. The
transistors themselves are currently made of the semiconductor
silicon, which must be vapor deposited on a glass substrate at
very high temperatures as part of an extremely complex process.
This renders the displays rigid, heavy and breakable and makes
them very expensive to produce. Organic semiconductors, however,
are changing this. They consist of large molecule chains
(polymers) or “small” molecule