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Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE)
OEMD Research Lab

Welcome to the OEMD Research Lab

Original Equipment Manufacturer and Devices

Led by Professor Franky So, our group explores cutting-edge materials and devices for next-generation optoelectronics. With expertise spanning organic, inorganic, and hybrid systems, we aim to develop high-performance electronic and photonic devices through advanced material characterization, innovative design, and novel fabrication methods.

2023 Entrepreneur of the Year

For work with OLED technologies and research that founded five startup companies

research focus

OLEDs

Organic Light-Emitting Diodes (OLEDs) are used to create digital displays in devices such as television screens, computer monitors, and portable systems such as smartphones and handheld game consoles. A major area of research is the development of white OLED devices for use in solid-state lighting applications.

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Solar Cells

Photovoltaic or solar cells are electronic devices that convert the energy of light directly into electricity by means of the photovoltaic effect. They are devices whose electrical characteristics (such as current, voltage, or resistance) vary when it is exposed to light.

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VFETs

Vertical Field Effect Transistors (VFETs) were once limited to costly high-end audio equipment, but today they’re being developed for next-generation computing, smartphones, and wearables. This cutting-edge technology is moving from specialized R&D toward broader applications.

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Franky So, Principal Investigator

Professor Franky So, Walter and Ida Freeman Distinguished Professor, received his Ph.D. from the University of Southern California. He worked for Motorola and OSRAM Opto-Semiconductors for 14 years before he became a professor at the University of Florida. He was a Rolf E. Hummel Professor of Electronic Materials in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Florida. In 2015, he joined North Carolina State University.

Faculty Profile

Research Focus: Advancing Organic and Hybrid Optoelectronics

Our areas of expertise include:

  • Organic electronic and semiconducting devices:
    • Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs)
    • Organic photodetectors (OPDs)
    • Organic photovoltaics (OPVs)
    • Organic field-effect transistors (OFETs)
  • Hybrid and inorganic systems:
    • Quantum dots for infrared (IR) sensing
    • Hybrid organic lead halide perovskites for solar cells
    • Metal oxide heterojunctions for UV photodetectors
    • High-gain permeable vertical transistors
  • Core research goals:
    • Revealing physical properties of novel materials
    • Designing innovative device architectures
    • Developing new fabrication and processing techniques

Breakthrough in Perovskite Photophysics

The OEMD Lab reports the discovery of unconventional solitonic high-temperature superfluorescence in perovskite materials, a finding published in Nature (2025) that opens new directions for next-generation optoelectronic devices.

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Selected Recent Publications

OEMD Lab

Meet the OEMD Research Lab

Join the OEMD Team

We are looking for talented and motivated graduate students and postdoctoral researchers to join the group.

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