A Highly Responsive Organic Image Sensor Based on a Two‐Terminal Organic Photodetector with Photomultiplication

Highly responsive organic image sensors are crucial for medical imaging applications. To enhance the pixelwise photoresponse in an organic image sensor, the integration of an organic photodetector with amplifiers, or the use of a highly responsive organic photodetector without an additional amplifying component, is required. The use of vertically stacked, two‐terminal organic photodetectors with photomultiplication is a promising approach for highly responsive organic image sensors owing to their simple two‐terminal structure and intrinsically large responsivity. However, there are no demonstrations of an imaging sensor array using organic photomultiplication photodetectors. The main obstacle to a sensor array is the weak‐light sensitivity, which is limited by a relatively large dark current. Herein, a highly responsive organic image sensor based on monolithic, vertically stacked two‐terminal pixels is presented. This is achieved using pixels of a vertically stacked diode‐type organic photodetector with photomultiplication. Furthermore, applying an optimized injection electrode and additionally stacked rectifying layers, this two‐terminal device simultaneously demonstrates a high responsivity (>40 A W^?1), low dark current, and high rectification under illumination. An organic image sensor based on this device with an extremely simple architecture exhibits a high pixel photoresponse, demonstrating a weak‐light imaging capability even at 1 µW cm^?2.     

Performance Enhancement of Lead-Free 2D Tin Halide Perovskite Transistors by Surface Passivation and Its Impact on Non-Volatile Photomemory Characteristics

Two-dimensional (2D) tin (Sn)-based perovskites have recently received increasing research attention for perovskite transistor application. Although some progress is made, Sn-based perovskites have long suffered from easy oxidation from Sn²⁺ to Sn⁴⁺, leading to undesirable p-doping and instability. In this study, it is demonstrated that surface passivation by phenethylammonium iodide (PEAI) and 4-fluorophenethylammonium iodide (FPEAI) effectively passivates surface defects in 2D phenethylammonium tin iodide (PEA₂SnI₄) films, increases the grain size by surface recrystallization, and p-dopes the PEA₂SnI₄ film to form a better energy-level alignment with the electrodes and promote charge transport properties. As a result, the passivated devices exhibit better ambient and gate bias stability, improved photo-response, and higher mobility, for example, 2.96 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹ for the FPEAI-passivated films—four times higher than the control film (0.76 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹). In addition, these perovskite transistors display non-volatile photomemory characteristics and are used as perovskite-transistor-based memories. Although the reduction of surface defects in perovskite films results in reduced charge retention time due to lower trap density, these passivated devices with better photoresponse and air stability show promise for future photomemory applications.     

Crystallized Monolayer Semiconductor for Ohmic Contact Resistance,High Intrinsic Gain,and High Current Density

The contact resistance limits the downscaling and operating range of organic field-effect transistors (OFETs). Access resistance through multilayers of molecules and the nonideal metal/semiconductor interface are two major bottlenecks preventing the lowering of the contact resistance. In this work, monolayer (1L) organic crystals and nondestructive electrodes are utilized to overcome the abovementioned challenges. High intrinsic mobility of 12.5 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹ and Ohmic contact resistance of 40 Ω cm are achieved. Unlike the thermionic emission in common Schottky contacts, the carriers are predominantly injected by field emission. The 1L-OFETs can operate linearly from V_DS = −1 V to V_DS as small as −0.1 mV. Thanks to the good pinch-off behavior brought by the monolayer semiconductor, the 1L-OFETs show high intrinsic gain at the saturation regime. At a high bias load, a maximum current density of 4.2 µA µm⁻¹ is achieved by the only molecular layer as the active channel, with a current saturation effect being observed. In addition to the low contact resistance and high-resolution lithography, it is suggested that the thermal management of high-mobility OFETs will be the next major challenge in achieving high-speed densely integrated flexible electronics.     

Graphene‐Assisted Growth of Patterned Perovskite Films for Sensitive Light Detector and Optical Image Sensor Application

Controlled growth of high‐quality patterned perovskite films on a large scale is essentially required for the application of this class of materials in functional integrated devices and systems. Herein, graphene‐assisted hydrophilic–hydrophobic surface‐induced growth of Cs‐doped FAPbI₃ perovskite films with well‐patterned shapes by a one‐step spin‐coating process is developed. Such a facile fabrication technique is compatible with a range of spin‐coated perovskite materials, perovskite manufacturing processes, and substrates. By employing this growing method, controllable perovskite photodetector arrays are realized, which have not only prominent photoresponse properties with a responsivity and specific detectivity of 4.8 AW^?1 and 4.2 × 10¹² Jones, respectively, but also relatively small pixel‐to‐pixel variation. Moreover, the photodetectors array can function as an effective visible light image sensor with a decent spatial resolution. Holding the above merits, the proposed technique provides a convenient and effective pathway for large‐scale preparation of patterned perovskite films for multifunctional application purposes.     

Epitaxial Growth of Large‐Grain NiSe Films by Solid‐State Reaction for High‐Responsivity Photodetector Arrays

Film‐based photodetectors have shown superiority for the fabrication of photodetector arrays, which are desired for integrating photodetectors into sensing and imaging systems, such as image sensors. But they usually possess a low responsivity due to low carrier mobility of the film consisting of nanocrystals. Large‐grain semiconductor films are expected to fabricate superior‐responsivity photodetector arrays. However, the growth of large‐grain semiconductor films, normally with a nonlayer structure, is still challenging. Herein, this study introduces a solid‐state reaction method, in which the growth rate is supposed to be limited by diffusion and reaction rate, for interface‐confined epitaxial growth of nonlayer structured NiSe films with grain size up to micrometer scale on Ni foil. Meanwhile, patterned growth of NiSe films allows the fabrication of NiSe film based photodetector arrays. More importantly, the fabricated photodetector based on as‐grown high‐quality NiSe films shows a responsivity of 150 A W^?1 in contrast to the value of 0.009 A W^?1 from the photodetector based on as‐deposited NiSe film consisting of nanocrystals, indicating a huge responsivity‐enhancement up to four orders of magnitude. It is ascribed to the enhanced charge carrier mobility in as‐grown NiSe films by dramatically decreasing the amount of grain boundary leading to scattering of charge carrier.     

On the fabrication and characterization of amorphous silicon ultra-violet sensor array

In this work we present the design and fabrication of a 16 × 16 ultraviolet sensor array, deposited by Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition on glass substrate, suitable for label-free DNA parallel analysis. Each pixel is constituted by two back-to-back series connected coplanar amorphous silicon/amorphous silicon carbide n–i–p diodes. One junction acts as photosensor (with 1.4 × 1.8 mm² area) and the other as switching diode (with 200 × 200 µm² area).The array performances have been optimized as a trade-off between the competitive requirements of the photosensor and of the switching element that have the same n–i–p stacked layers, since they have been deposited during the same deposition run. A responsivity around 60 mA/W in the ultraviolet range and an ON/OFF dark current ratio of six orders of magnitude have been achieved for the photodiode and the switching element, respectively.     

High sensitivity and wide bandwidth image sensor using CuIn1 − xGaxSe2 thin films

We have fabricated a novel image sensor using Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ (CIGS). A combined process of dry etching using HBr and Ar gasses and wet etching using dilute HCl solution was developed as isolation process of CIGS photodiode deposited at 400 °C. Etchant residues of the dry etching, which consist of Cu complex, were almost completely cleaned using the wet etching process and favorable vertical side wall of CIGS films was obtained without mechanical damages. As a result, high performance image sensors with low leakage current of ~ 10^− 8 A/cm² and wide wavelength range up to ~ 1240 nm were achieved. The developed image sensor consisted of 352 × 288 pixels with 10 µm × 10 µm pixel sizes, was able to capture clear images of night scenes.     

Printing Semiconductor–Insulator Polymer Bilayers for High‐Performance Coplanar Field‐Effect Transistors

Source–semiconductor–drain coplanar transistors with an organic semiconductor layer located within the same plane of source/drain electrodes are attractive for next‐generation electronics, because they could be used to reduce material consumption, minimize parasitic leakage current, avoid cross‐talk among different devices, and simplify the fabrication process of circuits. Here, a one‐step, drop‐casting‐like printing method to realize a coplanar transistor using a model semiconductor/insulator [poly(3‐hexylthiophene) (P3HT)/polystyrene (PS)] blend is developed. By manipulating the solution dewetting dynamics on the metal electrode and SiO₂ dielectric, the solution within the channel region is selectively confined, and thus make the top surface of source/drain electrodes completely free of polymers. Subsequently, during solvent evaporation, vertical phase separation between P3HT and PS leads to a semiconductor–insulator bilayer structure, contributing to an improved transistor performance. Moreover, this coplanar transistor with semiconductor–insulator bilayer structure is an ideal system for injecting charges into the insulator via gate‐stress, and the thus‐formed PS electret layer acts as a “nonuniform floating gate” to tune the threshold voltage and effective mobility of the transistors. Effective field‐effect mobility higher than 1 cm² V^?1 s^?1 with an on/off ratio > 10⁷ is realized, and the performances are comparable to those of commercial amorphous silicon transistors. This coplanar transistor simplifies the fabrication process of corresponding circuits.     

Bio-Photonic Waveguide of a DNA-Hybrid Semiconductor Prismatic Hexagon

A successful identification of DNA–DNA recognition, based on the waveguide effect of a 1D hybrid prismatic hexagon crystal interfacing of DNA with an organic semiconductor is achieved. This bio-hybrid 1D crystal simultaneously discerns the complementary case at its one end against a 1-mer mismatch in 27-mer nucleic acid sequence at the other end. The loss coefficient value of this waveguide is estimated to be 0.159 µm⁻¹ for the perfect match, which is a stark discrepancy compared to 0.244 µm⁻¹ for the 1-mer mismatch, implying waveguide performance with a higher efficiency. These results demonstrate successfully that multiple biological interactions can be realized by the optical waveguide of the single 1D bio-hybrid-crystal and will push this class of materials into bio-related applications.     

The Semiconductor/Conductor Interface Piezoresistive Effect in an Organic Transistor for Highly Sensitive Pressure Sensors

The piezoresistive pressure sensor, a kind of widely investigated artificial device to transfer force stimuli to electrical signals, generally consists of one or more kinds of conducting materials. Here, a highly sensitive pressure sensor based on the semiconductor/conductor interface piezoresistive effect is successfully demonstrated by using organic transistor geometry. Because of the efficient combination of the piezoresistive effect and field‐effect modulation in a single sensor, this pressure sensor shows excellent performance, such as high sensitivity (514 kPa^?1), low limit of detection, short response and recovery time, and robust stability. More importantly, the unique gate modulation effect in the transistor endows the sensor with an unparalleled ability—tunable sensitivity via bias conditions in a single sensor, which is of great significance for applications in complex pressure environments. The novel working principle and high performance represent significant progress in the field of pressure sensors.     

Synthesis,morphology and device characterizations of a new organic semiconductor based on 2,6-diphenylindenofluorene

A new organic semiconductor, 2,6-diphenylindenofluorene (DPIF), was synthesized in four steps with a high overall yield of 49.3%. The morphology of thin films of DPIF that were formed under different substrate temperatures was examined by atomic force microscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis. Two different crystalline phases were found to exist depending on the deposition conditions. The DPIF thin film emits around 500–530 nm, while the OLED based on DPIF emits green light with a maximum output over 150 Cd/m² under 35 V. Two typical transistor devices, thin-film transistor (TFT) and semiconductor-metal-semiconductor (SMS) transistor, were fabricated and characterized. DPIF shows a weak n-type character from the TFT device measurement, while SMS transistors using DPIF as an emitter behave like permeable-base transistors with low operating voltages in both common-base and common-emitter modes and a feature of current amplification. Our results demonstrate however, that further research efforts are necessary in order to prevent the observed instabilities. These are quite important, considering that the common-emitter mode is widely used in applications requiring not only switching capability, but also current amplification.     

Microfabricated Ion-Selective Transistors with Fast and Super-Nernstian Response

Transistor-based ion sensors have evolved significantly, but the best-performing ones rely on a liquid electrolyte as an internal ion reservoir between the ion-selective membrane and the channel. This liquid reservoir makes sensor miniaturization difficult and leads to devices that are bulky and have limited mechanical flexibility, which is holding back the development of high-performance wearable/implantable ion sensors. This work demonstrates microfabricated ion-selective organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) with a transconductance of 4 mS, in which a thin polyelectrolyte film with mobile sodium ions replaces the liquid reservoir. These devices are capable of selective detection of various ions with a fast response time (≈1 s), a super-Nernstian sensitivity (85 mV dec⁻¹), and a high current sensitivity (224 µA dec⁻¹), comparing favorably to other ion sensors based on traditional and emerging materials. Furthermore, the ion-selective OECTs are stable with highly reproducible sensitivity even after 5 months. These characteristics pave the way for new applications in implantable and wearable electronics.     

Revealing the Enhanced Thermoelectric Properties of Controllably Doped Donor-Acceptor Copolymer: The Impact of Regioregularity

Albeit considerable attention to the fast-developing organic thermoelectric (OTE) materials due to their flexibility and non-toxic features, it is still challenging to design an OTE polymer with superior thermoelectric properties. In this work, two “isomorphic” donor–acceptor (D–A) conjugated polymers are studied as the semiconductor in OTE devices, revealing for the first time the internal mechanism of regioregularity on thermoelectric performances in D–A type polymers. A higher molecular structure regularity can lead to higher crystalline order and mobility, higher doping efficiency, order of energy state, and thermoelectric (TE) performance. As a result, the regioregular P2F exhibits a maximum power factor (PF) of up to 113.27 µW m⁻¹ K⁻², more than three times that of the regiorandom PRF (35.35 µW m⁻¹ K⁻²). However, the regular backbone also implies lower miscibility with a dopant, negatively affecting TE performance. Therefore, the trade-off between doping efficiency and miscibility plays a vital role in OTE materials, and this work sheds light on the molecular design strategy of OTE polymers with state-of-the-art performances.     

Organic field effect transistors with ferroelectric hysteresis

The ferroelectric copolymer Poly(vinylidene fluoride trifluoroethylene) is used as insulating material for capacitor structures and organic field effect transistors. For capacitors, we find the typical hysteresis in the capacitance-voltage characteristic upon increasing the voltage scan window. A writing process with adequate electric fields causes shifts in the flatband voltage. Based on these results, we fabricate organic transistors with regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene) as organic semiconductor. The transistors are constructed in bottom gate architecture with thin layers (100 nm) of spincoated copolymer as gate insulation. The drain source current of the transistor is reversible affected by the polarized gate, which gives opportunities for fabrication of organic nonvolatile memory elements.     

Strong,Tough, and Anti-Swelling Supramolecular Conductive Hydrogels for Amphibious Motion Sensors

Conductive polymer hydrogels (CPHs) are widely employed in emerging flexible electronic devices because they possess both the electrical conductivity of conductors and the mechanical properties of hydrogels. However, the poor compatibility between conductive polymers and the hydrogel matrix, as well as the swelling behavior in humid environments, greatly compromises the mechanical and electrical properties of CPHs, limiting their applications in wearable electronic devices. Herein, a supramolecular strategy to develop a strong and tough CPH with excellent anti-swelling properties by incorporating hydrogen, coordination bonds, and cation-π interactions between a rigid conducting polymer and a soft hydrogel matrix is reported. Benefiting from the effective interactions between the polymer networks, the obtained supramolecular hydrogel has homogeneous structural integrity, exhibiting remarkable tensile strength (1.63 MPa), superior elongation at break (453%), and remarkable toughness (5.5 MJ m⁻³). As a strain sensor, the hydrogel possesses high electrical conductivity (2.16 S m⁻¹), a wide strain linear detection range (0–400%), and excellent sensitivity (gauge factor = 4.1), sufficient to monitor human activities with different strain windows. Furthermore, this hydrogel with high swelling resistance has been successfully applied to underwater sensors for monitoring frog swimming and underwater communication. These results reveal new possibilities for amphibious applications of wearable sensors.     

High-resolution patterning of organic semiconductor single crystal arrays for high-integration organic field-effect transistors

The pursuit of low-cost, high-performance electronic applications with solution-processible organic semiconductors drives the development of efficient methods to pattern organic semiconductor single crystals (OSSCs). However, fluid instabilities and a complex evaporation process have limited patterning of OSSCs with high resolution. Here, we present a solvent-free patterning approach, capillary force-driven molecule flow (CFDMF), to achieve highly aligned 2,7-dioctyl[1]benzothieno[3,2-b][1]benzothiophene (C8-BTBT) single crystal patterns with sub-micron resolution and high fidelity. The position as well as pattern shape and resolution of the C8-BTBT single crystal arrays can be predetermined through photolithography. Using this method, we have demonstrated a high-integration circuit comprising over 169 organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) with a high resolution of 310 dpi. The resultant OFETs show good field-effect properties with an average mobility of 4.44 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹. This patterning technique constitutes a major step toward the use of the high-mobility OSSCs for integrated device applications.     

A New Architecture for Fibrous Organic Transistors Based on a Double‐Stranded Assembly of Electrode Microfibers for Electronic Textile Applications

Herein, a unique device architecture is proposed for fibrous organic transistors based on a double‐stranded assembly of electrode microfibers for electronic textile applications. A key feature of this work is that the semiconductor channel of the fiber transistor comprises a twist assembly of the source and drain electrode microfibers that are coated by an organic semiconductor. This architecture not only allows the channel dimension of the device to be readily controlled by varying the thickness of the semiconductor layer and the twisted length of the two electrode microfibers, but also passivates the device without affecting interconnections with other electrical components. It is found that the control of crystalline nanostructure of the semiconductor layer is critical for improving both the production yield of the device and the charge‐carrier transport in the device. The resulting fibrous organic transistors show a high output current of over ?5 mA at a low operation voltage of ?1.3 V and a good on/off current ratio of 10⁵. The device performance is maintained after repeated bending deformation and washing with a strong detergent solution. Application of the fibrous organic transistors to switch current‐driven LED devices and detection of electrocardiography signals from a human body are demonstrated.     

Organic field-effect transistors using perylene

Organic thin-film field-effect transistors using organic semiconductor, perylene are fabricated, and electrical measurements are performed. The field-effect mobility of the device using perylene shows only p-type behavior while the electron and hole mobilities of its single crystal form are 5.5 and 0.5 cm²/V s, respectively. Stacked layers of perlyene (a layer fabricated with low deposition rate followed by another layer with high deposition rate) are formed for the active layer. Furthermore, hexadecafluorocopperphthalocyanine (F₁₆CuPc) and pentacene buffer layers are also used to modify the interface. For all of these devices, perylene layers acts as p-type. Electron trapping at grain boundaries and interface is thought to be a crucial factor. Hole mobility of 3.9×10⁻⁴ cm²/V s is obtained for the perylene film field-effect transistor device.     

Optical sensor with transparent conductive oxides electrodes for microposition detection applications

This paper presents an optical sensor structure for microposition detection application using transparent electrodes of indium doped ZnO (IZO). The optical microsensor consists of two linear arrays of metal - semiconductor - metal (MSM) silicon photodetectors with IZO transparent electrodes integrated with a polymer optical waveguide.IZO layers with a thickness of 460-580 nm have been deposited by dc magnetron sputtering technique on silicon epitaxial wafers of 30-50 Ω cm resistivity and a thickness of 23 µm. Due to their high optical transmittance (> 90%) over the 0.4-0.9 µm spectral range, these layers contributed to an increased responsivity of the MSM photodiode structure of about 0.34 A/W, thus improving the optical position microsensor sensitivity.     

Carrier Transport Regulation of Pixel Graphene Transparent Electrodes for Active-Matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diode Display

Integrating a graphene transparent electrode (TE) matrix with driving circuits is essential for the practical use of graphene in optoelectronics such as active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display, however it is disabled by the transport of carriers between graphene pixels after deposition of a semiconductor functional layer caused by the atomic thickness of graphene. Here, the carrier transport regulation of a graphene TE matrix by using an insulating polyethyleneimine (PEIE) layer is reported. The PEIE forms an ultrathin uniform film (≤10 nm) to fill the gap of the graphene matrix, blocking horizontal electron transport between graphene pixels. Meanwhile, it can reduce the work function of graphene, improving the vertical electron injection through electron tunneling. This enables the fabrication of inverted OLED pixels with record high current and power efficiencies of 90.7 cd A⁻¹ and 89.1 lm W⁻¹, respectively. By integrating these inverted OLED pixels with a carbon nanotube-based thin-film transistor (CNT-TFT)-driven circuit, an inch-size flexible active-matrix OLED display is demonstrated, in which all OLED pixels are independently controlled by CNT-TFTs. This research paves a way for the application of graphene-like atomically thin TE pixels in flexible optoelectronics such as displays, smart wearables, and free-form surface lighting.