Heterogeneous Monolithic Integration of Single‐Crystal Organic Materials

Manufacturing high‐performance organic electronic circuits requires the effective heterogeneous integration of different nanoscale organic materials with uniform morphology and high crystallinity in a desired arrangement. In particular, the development of high‐performance organic electronic and optoelectronic devices relies on high‐quality single crystals that show optimal intrinsic charge‐transport properties and electrical performance. Moreover, the heterogeneous integration of organic materials on a single substrate in a monolithic way is highly demanded for the production of fundamental organic electronic components as well as complex integrated circuits. Many of the various methods that have been designed to pattern multiple heterogeneous organic materials on a substrate and the heterogeneous integration of organic single crystals with their crystal growth are described here. Critical issues that have been encountered in the development of high‐performance organic integrated electronics are also addressed.     

Cover Picture: High‐Performance Organic Single‐Crystal Transistors on Flexible Substrates (Adv. Mater. 17/2006)

The cover shows a comparison of thin and thick rubrene single crystals where the flexibility of the thin rubrene crystals is clearly illustrated. On p. 2320, Yang, Bao, and co‐workers report that high performance flexible transistors on plastic substrates fabricated by using these rubrene “thin‐film” single‐crystals demonstrate mobility as high as 4.6 cm² Vs^–1 and ON/OFF ratios of approximately 10⁶.