Fabrication of 5.8‐in. OTFT‐driven flexible color AMOLED display using dual protection scheme for organic semiconductor patterning

Abstract— A 5.8‐in. wide‐QQVGA flexible color active‐matrix organic light‐emitting‐diode (AMOLED) display consisting of organic thin‐film transistors (OTFTs) and phosphorescent OLEDs was fabricated on a plastic film. To reduce the operating voltage of the OTFTs, Ta₂O₅ with a high dielectric constant was employed as a gate insulator. Pentacene was used for the semiconductor layer of the OTFTs. This layer was patterned by photolithography and dry‐etched using a dual protection layer of poly p‐xylylene and SiO₂ film. Uniform transistor performance was achieved in the OTFT backplane with QQVGA pixels. The RGB emission layers of the pixels were formed by vacuum deposition of phosphorescent small molecules. The resulting display could clearly show color moving images even when it was bent and operated at a low driving voltage (below 15 V).     

High-speed operation in printed organic inverter circuits with short channel length

We have demonstrated fast operation of printed organic inverter circuits. We employ a soluble organic semiconducting material which has high field-effect mobility and ink-jet printed source/drain electrodes with short channel length. Appropriate concentration of the semiconducting solution and modification layer of source/drain electrodes improve both mobility and on/off ratio. The fabricated transistors with a short channel length (4 μm) exhibit excellent mobility (1.2 cm²/V s), high on/off ratio (>10⁵) and operational stability. The diode-load inverter with a narrow channel and low parasitic capacitance operate at 8 kHz at 20 V. These results will lead to significant progress in applications of printed organic circuits.     

Strengthening and hydrogen embrittlement of ultrafine-grained Fe–0.01 mass% C alloy processed by high-pressure torsion

This study was conducted to elucidate the effects of annealing and hydrogenation on the tensile properties of an Fe–0.01 mass% C alloy processed by high-pressure torsion (HPT). By HPT processing, the tensile strength was increased to ∼1500 MPa through grain refinement. Low-temperature annealing further strengthened the HPT-processed specimen because of a simultaneous effect of carbide precipitation and grain refinement. Reduction in the dislocation density and the fraction of low-angle grain boundaries through warm-temperature annealing led to a decrease in hydrogen uptake when the specimens were exposed to high-pressure gaseous hydrogen, and they became less sensitive to hydrogen embrittlement (HE).     

Huntingtin-associated protein 1 (HAP1) interacts with the p150Glued subunit of dynactin

Huntington's disease (HD) is an inherited neurodegenerative disease caused by expansion of a polyglutamine repeat in the HD protein huntingtin. Huntingtin's localization within the cell includes an association with cytoskeletal elements and vesicles. We previously identified a protein (HAP1) which binds to huntingtin in a glutamine repeat length-dependent manner. We now report that HAP1 interacts with cytoskeletal proteins, namely the p150 Glued subunit of dynactin and the pericentriolar protein PCM-1. Structural predictions indicate that both HAP1 and the interacting proteins have a high probability of forming coiled coils. We examined the interaction of HAP1 with p150 Glued . Binding of HAP1 to p150 Glued (amino acids 879-1150) was confirmed in vitro by binding of p150 Glued to a HAP1-GST fusion protein immobilized on glutathione-Sepharose beads. Also, HAP1 co-immunoprecipitated with p150 Glued from brain extracts, indicating that the interaction occurs in vivo . Like HAP1, p150 Glued is highly expressed in neurons in brain and both proteins are enriched in a nerve terminal vesicle-rich fraction. Double label immunofluorescence experiments in NGF-treated PC12 cells using confocal microscopy revealed that HAP1 and p150 Glued partially co-localize. These results suggest that HAP1 might function as an adaptor protein using coiled coils to mediate interactions among cytoskeletal, vesicular and motor proteins. Thus, HAP1 and huntingtin may play a role in vesicle trafficking within the cell and disruption of this function could contribute to the neuronal dysfunction and death seen in HD.     

High air stability of threshold voltage on gate bias stress in pentacene TFTs with a hydroxyl-free and amorphous fluoropolymer as gate insulators

We investigated the air stabilities of threshold voltages (V_th) on gate bias stress in pentacene thin-film transistors (TFTs) with a hydroxyl-free and amorphous fluoropolymer as gate insulators. The 40-nm-thick thin films of spin-coated fluoropolymer had excellent electrical insulating properties, and the pentacene TFTs exhibited negligible current hysteresis, low leakage current, a field-effect mobility of 0.45 cm²/Vs and an on/off current ratio of 3 × 10⁷ when it was operated at −20 V in ambient air. After a gate bias stress of 10⁴ s, a small V_th shift below 1.1 V was obtained despite non-passivation of the pentacene layer. We have discussed that the excellent air stability of V_th was attributed to the insulator surface without hydroxyl groups.     

A current-mode bit-block circuit applicable to low-voltage, low-power pipeline video-speed A/D converters

This paper describes a study to determine if a current-mode circuit is useful as an analog circuit technique for realizing submicron mixed analog-and-digital MOS LSIs. To examine this, we designed and circuit simulated a new current-mode ADC bit-block for a 3 V, 10-bit level, 20 MHz ADC with a pipeline architecture and with full current-mode approach. A new precision current-mode sample-and-hold circuit which enables operation of a bit block at a clock speed of 20 MHz was developed. Current mismatches caused by the poor output impedance of a device were also decreased by adopting a cascode configuration throughout the design. Operation with a 3 V power supply and a 20 MHz clock speed in a 3-bit A/D configuration was verified through circuit simulation using standard CMOS 0.6 m device parameters. Gain error, mismatch of current, and linearity of the bit block with changing threshold voltage of a device were carefully examined. The bit block has a gain error of 0.2% (10-bit level), a linearity error of less than 0.1% (more than 10-bit level), and a current mismatch of DAC current sources in a bit cell of 0.2 to 0.4% (more than 8-bit level) with a 3 V power supply and 20 MHz clock speed. An 8-to 9-bit video-speed pipeline ADC can be realized without calibration. This confirms that the current-mode approach is effective.     

n- and p-Channel field-effect transistors based on diquinoxalinoTTF derivatives

Three new quinoxalinoTTF derivatives with methyl, trifluoromethyl and fluoro groups were synthesized and characterized by UV–vis absorption spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray single crystal analysis, X-ray diffraction, and field-effect transistor (FET) characteristics. All of them have π-stacking structures in the single crystals. The quinoxalinoTTF derivative with trifluoromethyl groups exhibited an n-type FET, which is a rare example of n-channel FETs based on TTF derivatives. The highest electron mobility is 0.01 cm² V^?1 s. The FET polarity was converted to p-channel from n-channel by replacing the trifluoromethyl groups with methyl groups. The hole mobility is as high as 0.2 cm² V^?1 s. In contrast, the fluoro substituted derivative did not show FET properties due to the poorly ordered molecular arrangement.     

Energy‐transfer dynamics of blue‐phosphorescent iridium and rhodium complexes doped in fluorescent molecules

Abstract— The temperature‐dependent photoluminescence features of polycarbonate thin films doped with blue‐phosphorescent molecules, either bis[(4,6‐difluorophenyl)‐pyridinato‐N,C^2′] (picolinate) iridium (Flrpic) or bis(2‐phenylpyridinato‐N,C^2′) (acetylacetonate) rhodium [(ppy)²Rh(acac)], which have an equivalent triplet energy of 2.64 eV, have been studied. The photoluminescence intensity of the Flrpic‐doped polycarbonate thin film did not show any dependence on temperature. On the other hand, as for the (ppy)²Rh(acac)‐doped polycarbonate thin film, decreasing photoluminescence intensity with increasing temperature (especially above 100K) was clearly visible. These results reflect that the internal heavy‐atom effect of (ppy)²Rh(acac) is weaker than that of Flrpic. Furthermore, the steady‐state and time‐resolved photoluminescence spectra of tris(8‐hydroxyquinoline) aluminum (Alq₃) thin films heavily doped with Flrpic or (ppy)²Rh(acac) (50 wt.%) at 8K was studied. It was found that the enhanced phosphorescence from Alq₃ is mainly due not to the external heavy‐atom effect by doping with the phosphorescent molecule but to the exothermic triplet energy transfer from the phosphorescent molecule to Alq₃.