Monitoring the Channel Formation in Organic Field‐Effect Transistors via Photoinduced Charge Transfer

Conducting channel formation in organic field‐effect transistors (OFETs) is considered to happen in the organic semiconductor layer very close to the interface with the gate dielectric. In the gradual channel approximation, the local density of accumulated charge carriers varies as a result of applied gate bias, with the majority of the charge carriers being localized in the first few semiconductor monolayers close to the dielectric interface. In this report, a new concept is employed which enables the accumulation of charge carriers in the channel by photoinduced charge transfer. An OFET employing C₆₀ as a semiconductor and divinyltetramethyldisiloxane‐bis(benzocyclobutene) as the gate dielectric is modified by a very thin noncontinuous layer of zinc‐phthalocyanine (ZnPc) at the semiconductor/dielectric interface. With this device geometry, it is possible to excite the phthalocyanine selectively and photogenerate charges directly at the semiconductor/dielectric interface via photoinduced electron transfer from ZnPc onto C₆₀. Thus the formation of a gate induced and a photoinduced channel in the same device can be correlated.     

Identifying orthogonal solvents for solution processed organic transistors

Identification of solvents for dissolving polymer dielectrics and organic semiconductors is necessary for the fabrication of solution-processed organic field effect transistors (OFETs). In addition to solubility and printability of a solvent, orthogonality is particularly important when forming multilayer structure from solutions. Currently, the process of finding orthogonal solvents is empirical, and based on trial-and-error experimental methods. In this paper, we present a methodology for identifying orthogonal solvents for solution-processed organic devices. We study the accuracy of Hildebrand and Hansen solubility theories for building solubility boundaries for organic semiconductor (Poly(2,5-bis(3-hexadecylthiophen-2-yl)thieno[3,2-b]thiophene (PBTTT) and polymer dielectrics (Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), Polystyrene (PS)). The Hansen solubility sphere for the organic semiconductor and polymer gate dielectrics are analyzed to identify solvents that dissolve PMMA and PS, but are orthogonal to PBTTT. Top gate/bottom contact PBTTT based OFETs are fabricated with PMMA gate dielectric processed with solvents that are orthogonal and non-orthogonal to PBTTT. The non-orthogonal solvents swell the semiconductor layer and increase their surface roughness.     

High permittivity dielectrics for poly(3-alkylthiophene) field-effect transistor devices

In an attempt to disentangle the effects of permittivity and surface energy of the gate insulator (expressed by its dielectric constant k and water contact angle, respectively) on the performance of organic field-effect transistors (FETs), we fabricated top- and bottom-gate FET architectures with poly(3-alkylthiophenes) (P3ATs) of different side-chain lengths, using a range of gate dielectrics. We find that this class of semiconductor, including the short butyl-(C₄-) substituted derivative, is significantly less susceptible to the often detrimental effects that high-k dielectrics can have on the performance of many organic FETs. For bottom gate devices we identify the surface energy of the gate dielectric to predominantly dictate the device mobility.     

有机半导体薄膜三极管的研制

采用真空蒸镀法和有机半导体材料酞菁铜,制作Au/CuPc/Al/ CuPc/Au三明治结构的肖特基型栅极有机静电感应三极管.该三极管导电沟道垂直于CuPc薄膜,与采用MOSFET结构的有机薄膜三极管相比导电沟道大幅缩短,有利于克服有机半导体电学性能的缺点.实验结果表明,该三极管驱动电压低,呈不饱和电流-电压特性.其工作特性依赖于栅极电压和梳状铝电极的结构.通过合理设计、制作梳状铝电极,获得了良好的三极管静态、动态特性.     

One-pot surface modification of poly(ethylene-alt-maleic anhydride) gate insulators for low-voltage DNTT thin-film transistors

This study investigates the one-pot surface modification of poly(ethylene-alt-maleic anhydride) (PEMA) gate insulators crosslinked with 1,5-naphthalenediamine (1,5-NDA) for enhancing the device performance of low-voltage dinaphtho[2,3-b:2′,3′-f]thieno[3,2-b]thiophene (DNTT) organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs). Surface properties of the PEMA gate insulator could be easily modified by adding poly(maleic anhydride-alt-1-octadecene) (PMAO) to the coating solution. The surface energy of the gate insulator is strongly correlated with the growth of organic semiconductors and the charge carrier transport at the interface between the semiconductor and gate insulator. The results indicate that the device performance of low-voltage DNTT OTFTs can be improved by one-pot surface modification of the PEMA gate insulator.     

Effect of Gate Electrode Work‐Function on Source Charge Injection in Electrolyte‐Gated Organic Field‐Effect Transistors

Systematic investigation of the contact resistance in electrolyte‐gated organic field‐effect transistors (OFETs) demonstrates a dependence of source charge injection versus gate electrode work function. This analysis reveals contact‐limitations at the source metal‐semiconductor interface and shows that the contact resistance increases as low work function metals are used as the gate electrode. These findings are attributed to the establishment of a built‐in potential that is high enough to prevent the Fermi‐level pinning at the metal‐organic interface. This results in an unfavorable energetic alignment of the source electrode with the valence band of the organic semiconductor. Since the operating voltage in the electrolyte‐gated devices is on the same order as the variation of the work functions, it is possible to tune the contact resistance over more than one order of magnitude by varying the gate metal.     

Air stable C60 based n-type organic field effect transistor using a perfluoropolymer insulator

Air stable n-type organic field effect transistors (OFETs) based on C₆₀ are realized using a perfluoropolymer as the gate dielectric layer. The devices showed the field-effect mobility of 0.049 cm²/V s in ambient air. Replacing the gate dielectric material by SiO₂ resulted in no transistor action in ambient air. Perfluorinated gate dielectric layer reduces interface traps significantly for the n-type semiconductor even in air.     

Organic field-effect transistors and memory elements using deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) gate dielectric

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) bio-polymers derived from fish waste products are employed as gate dielectric in n-type methanofullerene as well as p-type pentacene based organic field-effect transistors working at low voltage levels and low gate leakage currents. Based on the large hysteresis in the transfer characteristics, operation of the transistor as a non-volatile memory element is shown. Practically hysteresis free operation of DNA based transistors is obtained at low voltage levels by adding an additional aluminium oxide blocking layer between the organic semiconductor and the DNA gate dielectric.     

Arbitrary Density of States in an Organic Thin-Film Field-Effect Transistor Model and Application to Pentacene Devices

We present a modular numerical model for organic thin-film field-effect transistors (OTFTs) that allows for an arbitrary density of states to be independently defined for the semiconductor bulk and the semiconductor surface next to the gate insulator. We can derive the surface charge density dependence on the interface field as well as the space-charge-limited current characteristics. Together with a model of the contacts, we arrive at a physical model that is applied to a series of OTFTs in staggered inverted (top contact) geometry with various gate insulator treatments     

Copper phthalocyanine based vertical organic field effect transistor with naturally patterned tin intermediate grid electrode

We report on low voltage vertical organic field effect transistors using crosslinked poly(vinyl alcohol) (cr-PVA) as gate insulator and copper phthalocyanine (CuPc) as channel semiconductor. Al is used as gate and drain electrode. Sn thin films deposited under proper conditions are used as intermediate grid electrode (source), since the Sn film morphology simultaneously shows pinholes and lateral intergrain connectivity, allowing in-plane charge transport. Our Al/cr-PVA/Sn/CuPc/Al VOFET operates at low voltages, presents specific transconductance of ∼0.45 S m⁻² and a linear source-drain current on gate voltage dependence.     

Self‐Assembled,Millimeter‐Sized TIPS‐Pentacene Spherulites Grown on Partially Crosslinked Polymer Gate Dielectric

Here, a highly crystalline and self‐assembled 6,13‐bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl) pentacene (TIPS‐Pentacene) thin films formed by simple spin‐coating for the fabrication of high‐performance solution‐processed organic field‐effect transistors (OFETs) are reported. Rather than using semiconducting organic small‐molecule–insulating polymer blends for an active layer of an organic transistor, TIPS‐Pentacene organic semiconductor is separately self‐assembled on partially crosslinked poly‐4‐vinylphenol:poly(melamine‐co‐formaldehyde) (PVP:PMF) gate dielectric, which results in a vertically segregated semiconductor‐dielectric film with millimeter‐sized spherulite‐crystalline morphology of TIPS‐Pentacene. The structural and electrical properties of TIPS‐Pentacene/PVP:PMF films have been studied using a combination of polarized optical microscopy, atomic force microscopy, 2D‐grazing incidence wide‐angle X‐ray scattering, and secondary ion mass spectrometry. It is finally demonstrated a high‐performance OFETs with a maximum hole mobility of 3.40 cm² V^?1 s^?1 which is, to the best of our knowledge, one of the highest mobility values for TIPS‐Pentacene OFETs fabricated using a conventional solution process. It is expected that this new deposition method would be applicable to other small molecular semiconductor–curable polymer gate dielectric systems for high‐performance organic electronic applications.     

Gate pulse electrical method to characterize hysteresis phenomena in organic field effect transistor

Hysteresis phenomena in the current–voltage characteristics of organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) between the up and down sweeps are commonly observed. This hysteresis behavior is strongly affected by the trapping-effect. In this work, we present a new experimental technique to study these phenomena. The technique is based on the time-dependent drain current measurements as a function of a pulsed gate voltage. The decay of the drain current observed when a gate bias is applied to the gate electrode is correlated to the trapping-detrapping effects in the silicon oxide and/or at the organic semiconductor/silicon oxide interface. We show how to use this pulse gate electrical method to characterize the true device performances (threshold voltage, carrier mobility) of petacene organic field effect transistors (OFETs) with SiO₂ gate dielectric under different pulsed conditions, avoiding the pitfalls due to the presence of the hysteresis effect when using classical static data analysis methods. Moreover, we demonstrate that the charge carrier mobility is less affected by the trapping and detrapping phenomena than the threshold voltage.     

A low voltage and small hysteresis C_(60) thin film transistor

Organic thin film transistors with C_(60) as an n-type semiconductor have been fabricated.A tantalum pentoxide(Ta_2O_5)/poly-methylmethacrylate(PMMA) double-layer structured gate dielectric was used.The Ta_2O_5 layer was prepared by using a simple solution-based and economical anodization technique.Our results demonstrate that double gate insulators can combine the advantage of Ta_2O_5 with high dielectric constant and polymer insulator for a better interface with the organic semiconductor.The performanc...     

Charge trapping in organic transistor memories: On the role of electrons and holes

In this work, we study charge trapping in organic transistor memories with a polymeric insulator as gate dielectric. We found that the mechanism of charge trapping is tunneling from the semiconductor channel into the gate dielectric. Depending on the semiconductor and its processing, charge trapping can result in large bi-directional threshold voltage shifts, in case the semiconductor is ambipolar, or in shifts in only one direction (unipolar semiconductor). These results indicate that optimal memory performance requires charge carriers of both polarities, because the most efficient method to lower the programming field is by overwriting a trapped charge by an injected charge of opposite polarity.     

A novel gate insulator for flexible electronics

Field effect transistors using a poly(triaryl amine) p-channel organic semiconductor in conjunction with anodised aluminium oxide as the gate insulator (Al₂O₃ on Al) are demonstrated. Anodised films are pinhole-free, homogenous oxide layers of precisely controlled thickness. The anodisation process requires no vacuum steps; anodised Al₂O₃ is insoluble in organic solvents, and Al films are cheaply available as laminates on flexible substrates. Anodised Al₂O₃ is confirmed to have high gate capacitance (≈60 nF/cm²) and electric breakdown strength (>3 MV/cm in the working device). This property profile answers to the demands on gate insulators for flexible electronics applications.     

Small-molecule vacuum processed melamine-C60, organic field-effect transistors

The transfer of benchtop knowledge into large scale industrial production processes represents a challenge in the field of organic electronics. Large scale industrial production of organic electronics is envisioned as roll to roll (R2R) processing which nowadays comprises usually solution-based large area printing steps. The search for a fast and reliable fabrication process able to accommodate the deposition of both insulator and semiconductor layers in a single step is still under way. Here we report on the fabrication of organic field effect transistors comprising only evaporable small molecules. Moreover, both the gate dielectric (melamine) and the semiconductor (C₆₀) are deposited in successive steps without breaking the vacuum in the evaporation chamber. The material characteristics of evaporated melamine thin films as well as their dielectric properties are investigated, suggesting the applicability of vacuum processed melamine for gate dielectric layer in OFETs. The transistor fabrication and its transfer and output characteristics are presented along with observations that lead to the fabrication of stable and virtually hysteresis-free transistors. The extremely low price of precursor materials and the ease of fabrication recommend the evaporation processes as alternative methods for a large scale, R2R production of organic field effect transistors.     

Humidity sensitive organic field effect transistor

This paper reports the experimental results for the humidity dependent properties of an organic field effect transistor.The organic field effect transistor was fabricated on thoroughly cleaned glass substrate,in which the junction between the metal gate and the organic channel plays the role of gate dielectric.Thin films of organic semiconductor copper phthalocynanine (CuPc) and semitransparent Al were deposited in sequence by vacuum thermal evaporation on the glass substrate with preliminarily deposited Ag source and drain electrodes.The output and transfer characteristics of the fabricated device were performed.The effect of humidity on the drain current,drain current-drain voltage relationship,and threshold voltage was investigated.It was observed that humidity has a strong effect on the characteristics of the organic field effect transistor.     

Humidity sensitive organic field effect transistor

This paper reports the experimental results for humidity dependent properties of organic field effect transistor. The organic field effect transistor was fabricated on thoroughly cleaned glass substrate, in which the junction between metal gate and organic channel plays the role of gate dielectric. The thin films of organic semiconductor copper phthalocynanine (CuPc) and semitransparent Al were deposited in sequence by vacuum thermal evaporation on the glass substrate with preliminary deposited Ag source and drain electrodes. Output and transfer characteristics of the fabricated device were performed. The effect of humidity on the drain current, drain current-drain voltage relationship, and threshold voltage have been investigated. It was observed that humidity has strong effect on the characteristics of organic field effect transistor (OFET).     

Metal–Insulator–Semiconductor Coaxial Microfibers Based on Self‐Organization of Organic Semiconductor:Polymer Blend for Weavable,Fibriform Organic Field‐Effect Transistors

With the increasing importance of electronic textiles as an ideal platform for wearable electronic devices, requirements for the development of functional electronic fibers with multilayered structures are increasing. In this paper, metal–polymer insulator–organic semiconductor (MIS) coaxial microfibers using the self‐organization of organic semiconductor:insulating polymer blends for weavable, fibriform organic field‐effect transistors (FETs) are demonstrated. A holistic process for MIS coaxial microfiber fabrication, including surface modification of gold microfiber thin‐film coating on the microfiber using a die‐coating system, and the self‐organization of organic semiconductor–insulator polymer blend is presented. Vertical phase‐separation of the organic semiconductor:insulating polymer blend film wrapping the metal microfibers provides a coaxial bilayer structure of gate dielectric (inside) and organic semiconductor (outside) with intimate interfacial contact. It is determined that the fibriform FETs based on MIS coaxial microfiber exhibit good charge carrier mobilities that approach the values of typical devices with planar substrate. It additionally exhibits electrical property uniformity over the entire fiber surface and improved bending durability. Fibriform organic FET embedded in a textile is demonstrated by weaving MIS coaxial microfibers with cotton and conducting threads, which verifies the feasibility of MIS coaxial microfiber for use in electronic textile applications.     

Fully solution-processed organic thin-film transistors by consecutive roll-to-roll gravure printing

A high-performance/flexible organic thin-film transistor (OTFT) is fabricated by using all-step solution processes, which are composed of roll-to-roll gravure, plate-to-roll gravure and inkjet printing with the least process number of 5. Roll-to-roll gravure printing is used to pattern source/drain electrodes on plastic substrate while semiconductor and dielectric layers are printed by consecutive plate-to-roll gravure printing. Finally, inkjet printing of Ag organometallic ink is used to pattern the gate electrode. The fabricated OTFT exhibits excellent electrical performance, field-effect mobility over 0.2 cm²/Vs, which is one of the best compared to the previous works. The deposition of a self-assembled monolayer on the source-drain electrodes results in a higher work function which is suitable for a p-type polymer semiconductor. Moreover, the formation of dense gate electrode line on hydrophobic dielectric is achieved by selecting suitable Ag ink.