ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 19 2010
Christophe Caillier
Abstract A transistor based on an individual multiwalled carbon nanotube is studied under high-pressure up to 1 GPa. Dramatic effects are observed, such as the lowering of the Schottky barrier at the gold,nanotube contacts, the enhancement of the intertube conductance, including a discontinuity related to a structural transition, and the decrease of the gate hysteresis of the device. [source]

Integration of a Rib Waveguide Distributed Feedback Structure into a Light-Emitting Polymer Field-Effect Transistor

ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 11 2009
Michael C. Gwinner
No abstract is available for this article. [source]

Non-volatile Ferroelectric Poly(vinylidene fluoride- co -trifluoroethylene) Memory Based on a Single-Crystalline Tri-isopropylsilylethynyl Pentacene Field-Effect Transistor

ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 10 2009
Seok Ju Kang
Abstract A new type of nonvolatile ferroelectric poly(vinylidene fluoride- co -trifluoroethylene) (P(VDF-TrFE)) memory based on an organic thin-film transistor (OTFT) with a single crystal of tri-isopropylsilylethynyl pentacene (TIPS-PEN) as the active layer is developed. A bottom-gate OTFT is fabricated with a thin P(VDF-TrFE) film gate insulator on which a one-dimensional ribbon-type TIPS-PEN single crystal, grown via a solvent-exchange method, is positioned between the Au source and drain electrodes. Post-thermal treatment optimizes the interface between the flat, single-crystalline ab plane of TIPS-PEN and the polycrystalline P(VDF-TrFE) surface with characteristic needle-like crystalline lamellae. As a consequence, the memory device exhibits a substantially stable source,drain current modulation with an ON/OFF ratio hysteresis greater than 103, which is superior to a ferroelectric P(VDF-TrFE) OTFT that has a vacuum-evaporated pentacene layer. Data retention longer than 5,×,104 s is additionally achieved in ambient conditions by incorporating an interlayer between the gate electrode and P(VDF-TrFE) thin film. The device is environmentally stable for more than 40 days without additional passivation. The deposition of a seed solution of TIPS-PEN on the chemically micropatterned surface allows fabrication arrays of TIPS-PEN single crystals that can be potentially useful for integrated arrays of ferroelectric polymeric TFT memory. [source]

Integration of a Rib Waveguide Distributed Feedback Structure into a Light-Emitting Polymer Field-Effect Transistor

ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 9 2009
Michael C. Gwinner
Abstract Ambipolar light-emitting organic field-effect transistors (LEFETs) possess the ability to efficiently emit light due to charge recombination in the channel. Since the emission can be made to occur far from the metal electrodes, the LEFET structure has been proposed as a potential architecture for electrically pumped organic lasers. Here, a rib waveguide distributed feedback structure consisting of tantalum pentoxide (Ta2O5) integrated within the channel of a top gate/bottom contact LEFET based on poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene- alt -benzothiadiazole) (F8BT) is demonstrated. The emitted light is coupled efficiently into the resonant mode of the DFB waveguide when the recombination zone of the LEFET is placed directly above the waveguide ridge. This architecture provides strong mode confinement in two dimensions. Mode simulations are used to optimize the dielectric thickness and gate electrode material. It is shown that electrode absorption losses within the device can be eliminated and that the lasing threshold for optical pumping of the LEFET structure with all electrodes (4.5,µJ cm,2) is as low as that of reference devices without electrodes. These results enable quantitative judgement of the prospects for realizing an electrically pumped organic laser based on ambipolar LEFETs. The proposed device provides a powerful, low-loss architecture for integrating high-performance ambipolar organic semiconductor materials into electrically pumped lasing structures. [source]

A Water-Gate Organic Field-Effect Transistor

ADVANCED MATERIALS, Issue 23 2010
Loig Kergoat
High-dielectric-constant insulators, organic monolayers, and electrolytes have been successfully used to generate organic field-effect transistors operating at low voltages. Here, we report on a device gated with pure water. By replacing the gate dielectric by a simple water droplet, we produce a transistor that entirely operates in the field-effect mode of operation at voltages lower than 1,V. This result creates opportunities for sensor applications using water-gated devices as transducing medium. [source]

Ionic/Electronic Hybrid Materials Integrated in a Synaptic Transistor with Signal Processing and Learning Functions

ADVANCED MATERIALS, Issue 22 2010
Qianxi Lai
A synaptic transistor is fabricated by integrating ionic/electronic hybrid materials to emulate biological synapses with spike signal processing, learning, and memory functions. A potential spike generates transient ionic fluxes in a polymer layer in the transistor gate, triggering an excitatory postsynaptic current in the transistor drain. Temporally correlated pre- and post-synaptic spikes modify ions stored in the polymer, resulting in the nonvolatile modification of the transistor with spike-timing-dependent plasticity. [source]

Vertical Transistor with Ultrathin Silicon Nitride Gate Dielectric

ADVANCED MATERIALS, Issue 44 2009
Maryam Moradi
Nanoscale vertical thin-film transistors (VTFTs) are fabricated employing a new ultrathin silicon nitride (SiNx) gate dielectric for applications in high-resolution active matrix flat panel electronics. Illustrated are the cross-section schematic and SEM image of a 500,nm channel length VTFT with a 50,nm thick SiNx gate dielectric. The device demonstrates excellent gate control with gate leakage as low as 0.1,nA cm,2. [source]

Active Control of Epithelial Cell-Density Gradients Grown Along the Channel of an Organic Electrochemical Transistor

ADVANCED MATERIALS, Issue 43 2009
Maria H. Bolin
Complex patterning of the extracellular matrix, cells, and tissues under in situ electronic control is the aim of the technique presented here. The distribution of epithelial cells along the channel of an organic electrochemical transistor is shown to be actively controlled by the gate and drain voltages, as electrochemical gradients are formed along the transistor channel when the device is biased.. [source]

A Characterization Study of a Nanowire-Network Transistor with Various Channel Layers

ADVANCED MATERIALS, Issue 41 2009
Jae Eun Jang
The performance of a ZnO network transistor is studied by means of the change in threshold slope with varying number of nanowire channel layers. The threshold slope broadens as the number of layers in the channel increases and, in the case of a two-layer channel, a double turn-on effect can be observed. The gate-field simulation shows gate-field distortion by the surface of the nanowire. [source]

Effect of Traps on Carrier Injection and Transport in Organic Field-effect Transistor

IEEJ TRANSACTIONS ON ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING, Issue 4 2010
Martin Weis Non-member
Abstract This study illustrates effect of traps on the charge injection and transport in the organic field-effect transistor (OFET). Here are included silicon nanoparticles (NPs) on a semiconductor-gate insulator interface, which work as trapping centers of charge carriers. Charge transport and injection phenomena are investigated by electrical measurements in presence of traps with designed densities. We find that OFETs with a low concentration of intrinsic carriers, such as a pentacene, are extremely sensitive to the internal electric fields. A significant threshold voltage shift due to trapped charge is observed, with a possibility to tune it by controlling the NP density. We demonstrate that the NP film can serve to design the amount of the accumulated charge in OFET and thus change the space-charge-limited conditions to the injection-limited conditions. A detailed analysis of pentacene OFET based on dielectric properties and the Maxwell-Wagner model reveals the internal electric field created by NPs. Additionally, the effect of NPs is discussed with respect to effective mobility, and its decrease is related to deceleration of carrier propagation by the trapping effect as well as low injection due to the increase of the carrier injection barrier by the internal field. Copyright © 2010 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. [source]

Novel ZrInZnO Thin-film Transistor with Excellent Stability

ADVANCED MATERIALS, Issue 3 2009
Jin-Seong Park
Novel ZrInZnO semiconductor materials to resolve transistor instability for active-matrix organic light-emitting diodes are proposed. The ZrInZnO film is preprared using a cosputtering method, and presents a nanocrystal structure embedded in an amorphous matrix. The thin-film transistors fabricated have good electrical performances as well as excellent stability under long-term bias stresses. [source]

A Nitrogen Dioxide Sensor Based on an Organic Transistor Constructed from Amorphous Semiconducting Polymers,

ADVANCED MATERIALS, Issue 22 2007
A. Das
Organic field effect transistors based on amorphous semiconducting polymers are used as highly effective sensors for the detection of low concentrations of NO2. The figure shows the experimental setup used to detect the toxic odor. The threshold voltage rather than the charge carrier mobility is seen to be greatly modified by exposure to NO2. [source]

High-Performance Field-Effect Transistor Based on Dibenzo[d,d,]thieno[3,2- b;4,5- b,]dithiophene, an Easily Synthesized Semiconductor with High Ionization Potential,

ADVANCED MATERIALS, Issue 19 2007
H. Gao
Three simple, controlled steps are all it takes to synthesize the title pentacene analogue DBTDT (see figure). The material's high ionization potential, high thermal and photostability, high mobilities, and an on/off ratio larger than 106 at a substrate temperature of ca.,36,°C, as reported here, suggest that DBTDT will be extremely valuable for applications in plastic organic electronics. [source]

A physics-based model of DC and microwave characteristics of GaN/AlGaN HEMTs

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RF AND MICROWAVE COMPUTER-AIDED ENGINEERING, Issue 3 2007
Jonathan C. Sippel
Abstract A physics-based model of AlGaN/GaN High Electron Mobility Transistor (HEMT) is developed for the analysis of DC and microwave characteristics. Large- and small-signal parameters are calculated for a given device dimensions and operating conditions. Spontaneous and piezoelectric polarizations at the heterointerface and finite effective width of the 2DEG gas have been incorporated in the analysis. The model predicts a maximum drain current of 523 mA/mm and transconductance of 138 mS/mm for a 1 ,m × 75 ,m device, which are in agreement with the experimental data. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE, 2007. [source]

ZnO Nanofiber Field-Effect Transistor Assembled by Electrospinning

JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CERAMIC SOCIETY, Issue 2 2008
Hui Wu
A ZnO nanofiber field-effect transistor (FET) was assembled by electrospinning. Uniform ZnO nanofibers with a diameter of ,70 nm and length over 100 ,m were first synthesized by electrospinning. Using two paralleled electrodes as fiber collectors, we have successfully placed a single ZnO nanofiber on the electrodes, and an FET device was fabricated based on the assembled nanofiber. An electrical transport measurement was conducted on the FET device, showing that ZnO nanofibers are intrinsic n- type semiconductors. The present findings demonstrate that electrospinning can potentially be used as a straightforward and cost-effective means for the assembly of one-dimensional nanostuctures for building integrated nanodevices for various applications, such as transistors, sensors, diodes, and photodetectors. [source]

Excitation of millimeter-wave oscillations in InAlAs/InGaAs heterostructures

PHYSICA STATUS SOLIDI (C) - CURRENT TOPICS IN SOLID STATE PHYSICS, Issue 1 2008
S. Pérez
Abstract We study the origin of strong Terahertz (THz) oscillations taking place in InAlAs/InGaAs slot diodes - base of High Electron Mobility Transistor (HEMT) devices - when bias surpasses 0.5 V. To this end we perform a microscopic analysis of current fluctuations, calculated by means of an ensemble Monte Carlo (MC) simulator. The millimeter and submillimeter waves are caused by the presence of Gunn-like oscillations whose dynamics is controlled by ballistic , valley electrons in the channel. These carriers are capable to reach extremely high velocities due to the influence of degeneracy effects (preventing scattering mechanisms) and the presence of a recessed geometry. The dependence of this process on the recess and recess-drain lengths is analyzed in order to improve the frequency and magnitude of the oscillations. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source]

Dynamical symmetries and quantum transport through nanostructures

PHYSICA STATUS SOLIDI (C) - CURRENT TOPICS IN SOLID STATE PHYSICS, Issue 9 2007
*Article first published online: 18 JUN 200, M. N. Kiselev
Abstract We discuss the manifestation of dynamical symmetries in quantum transport through nanostructures. The dynamical symmetry SO (4) manifested in the singlet-triplet excitations is shown to be responsible for several exotic effects in nano-devices: non-equilibrium Kondo effect in T-shape Double Quantum Dots, phonon-induced Kondo effect in transition-metal-organic complexes, Kondo shuttling in Nano-Electromechanical Single Electron Transistor. We consider the interplay between charge U (1) and spin SU (2) fluctuations in the vicinity of Stoner instability point and a non-monotonic behavior of a Tunneling Density of States in metallic quantum dots. The experiments showing important role of dynamical symmetries in nanostructures are briefly reviewed. (© 2007 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source]

AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor structures for pressure and pH sensing

PHYSICA STATUS SOLIDI (C) - CURRENT TOPICS IN SOLID STATE PHYSICS, Issue 7 2005
B. S. Kang
Abstract Nitride High Electron Mobility Transistor(HEMT) structures are excellent candidates for polar liquid detectors, pressure sensors and piezoelectric-related applications. The changes in conductance of the channel of AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor structures during application of both tensile and compressive strain are reported. For fixed Al mole fraction, the changes in conductance were roughly linear over the range up to 2.7 × 108 N.cm,2 , with coefficients for planar devices of ,6.0 +/,2.5 × 10,10 S.N,1 m,2 for tensile strain and +9.5+/,3.5 × 10,10 S.N,1m,2 for compressive strain . The large changes in conductance demonstrate that simple AlGaN/GaN heterostructures are promising for pressure and strain sensor applications. A gateless HEMT structure was also used for sensing different liquids present in the gate region. The forward current showed significant decreases upon exposure of the gate area to solvents (water, acetone) or acids (HCl). Milli ampere changes in the source-drain current are observed relative to the value measured in air ambient . The pH sensitivity is due to changes in net surface charge that affects the relative depletion in the channel of the transistor. (© 2005 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source]

Analysis of Dopamine and Tyrosinase Activity on Ion-Sensitive Field-Effect Transistor (ISFET) Devices

CHEMISTRY - A EUROPEAN JOURNAL, Issue 26 2007
Ronit Freeman
Abstract Dopamine (1) and tyrosinase (TR) activities were analyzed by using chemically modified ion-sensitive field-effect transistor (ISFET) devices. In one configuration, a phenylboronic acid functionalized ISFET was used to analyze 1 or TR. The formation of the boronate,1 complex on the surface of the gate altered the electrical potential associated with the gate, and thus enabled 1 to be analyzed with a detection limit of 7×10,5,M. Similarly, the TR-induced formation of 1, and its association with the boronic acid ligand allowed a quantitative assay of TR to be performed. In another configuration, the surface of the ISFET gate was modified with tyramine or 1 to form functional surfaces for analyzing TR activities. The TR-induced oxidation of the tyramine- or 1 -functionalized ISFETs resulted in the formation of the redox-active dopaquinone units. The control of the gate potential by the redox-active dopaquinone units allowed a quantitative assay of TR to be performed. The dopaquinone-functionalized ISFETs could be regenerated to give the 1 -modified sensing devices by treatment with ascorbic acid. [source]

Detection of Explosives Using Field-Effect Transistors

ELECTROANALYSIS, Issue 20 2009
Etery Sharon
Abstract The gate surfaces of ion-sensitive field-effect transistor (ISFET) devices were functionalized with the ,-donor units, 6-hydroxydopamine (1) or 4-aminothiophenol (2). Concentration of trinitrotoluene, TNT, on the gate via ,-donor-acceptor interactions yields charge-transfer complexes that alter the gate potential. This enables the label-free analysis of TNT with a detection limit corresponding to 1×10,7,M. [source]

Sensing with Nafion Coated Carbon Nanotube Field-Effect Transistors

ELECTROANALYSIS, Issue 1-2 2004
Alexander Star
Abstract Sequential CVD and CMOS processes were used to make a FET that has single walled carbon nanotubes to serve as the conducting source to drain channel. This structure can be decorated to provide gas and liquid responses and herein is evaluated as a humdity sensor. The Na+, K+, and Ca2+ ion-exchanged Nafion polymer acts as the chemically sensitive layer in this electrochemical sensor. The effect of gate voltage on the charge-sensitive NT structure was found to be RH dependent over the range of 12,93% RH with msec response time. [source]

Inkjet-Printed Single-Droplet Organic Transistors Based on Semiconductor Nanowires Embedded in Insulating Polymers

ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 19 2010
Jung Ah Lim
Fabrication of organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) using a high-throughput printing process has garnered tremendous interest for realizing low-cost and large-area flexible electronic devices. Printing of organic semiconductors for active layer of transistor is one of the most critical steps for achieving this goal. The charge carrier transport behavior in this layer, dictated by the crystalline microstructure and molecular orientations of the organic semiconductor, determines the transistor performance. Here, it is demonstrated that an inkjet-printed single-droplet of a semiconducting/insulating polymer blend holds substantial promise as a means for implementing direct-write fabrication of organic transistors. Control of the solubility of the semiconducting component in a blend solution can yield an inkjet-printed single-droplet blend film characterized by a semiconductor nanowire network embedded in an insulating polymer matrix. The inkjet-printed blend films having this unique structure provide effective pathways for charge carrier transport through semiconductor nanowires, as well as significantly improve the on-off current ratio and the environmental stability of the printed transistors. [source]

Ultrathin, Organic, Semiconductor/Polymer Blends by Scanning Corona-Discharge Coating for High-Performance Organic Thin-Film Transistors

ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 17 2010
Hee Joon Jung
Abstract A new thin-film coating process, scanning corona-discharge coating (SCDC), to fabricate ultrathin tri-isopropylsilylethynyl pentacene (TIPS-PEN)/amorphous-polymer blend layers suitable for high-performance, bottom-gate, organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) is described. The method is based on utilizing the electrodynamic flow of gas molecules that are corona-discharged at a sharp metallic tip under a high voltage and subsequently directed towards a bottom electrode. With the static movement of the bottom electrode, on which a blend solution of TIPS-PEN and an amorphous polymer is deposited, SCDC provides an efficient route to produce uniform blend films with thicknesses of less than one hundred nanometers, in which the TIPS-PEN and the amorphous polymer are vertically phase-separated into a bilayered structure with a single-crystalline nature of the TIPS-PEN. A bottom-gate field-effect transistor with a blend layer of TIPS-PEN/polystyrene (PS) (90/10 wt%) operated at ambient conditions, for example, indeed exhibits a highly reliable device performance with a field-effect mobility of approximately 0.23 cm2 V,1 s,1: two orders of magnitude greater than that of a spin-coated blend film. SCDC also turns out to be applicable to other amorphous polymers, such as poly(, -methyl styrene) and poly(methyl methacrylate) and, readily combined with the conventional transfer-printing technique, gives rise to micropatterned arrays of TIPS-PEN/polymer films. [source]

Air-Operable, High-Mobility Organic Transistors with Semifluorinated Side Chains and Unsubstituted Naphthalenetetracarboxylic Diimide Cores: High Mobility and Environmental and Bias Stress Stability from the Perfluorooctylpropyl Side Chain

ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 17 2010
Byung Jun Jung
Abstract N,N,-bis(3-(perfluoroctyl)propyl)-1,4,5,8-naphthalenetetracarboxylic acid diimide (8,3-NTCDI) was newly synthesized, as were related fluorooctylalkyl-NTCDIs and alkyl-NTCDIs. The 8,3-NTCDI-based organic thin-film transistor (OTFT) on an octadecyltrimethoxysilane (OTS)-treated Si/SiO2 substrate shows apparent electron mobility approaching 0.7 cm2 V -1s -1 in air. The fluorooctylethyl-NTCDI (8,2-NTCDI) and fluorooctylbutyl-NTCDI (8,4-NTCDI) had significantly inferior properties even though their chemical structures are only slightly different, and nonfluorinated decyl and undecyl NTCDIs did not operate predictably in air. From atomic force microscopy, the 8,3-NTCDI active layer deposited with the substrate at 120 °C forms a polycrystalline film with grain sizes >4,m. Mobilities were stable in air for one week. After 100 days in air, the average mobility of three OTFTs decreased from 0.62 to 0.12 cm2 V -1s -1, but stabilized thereafter. The threshold voltage (VT) increased by 15 V in air, but only by 3 V under nitrogen, after one week. On/off ratios were stable in air throughout. We also investigated transistor stability to gate bias stress. The transistor on hexamethlydisilazane (HMDS) is more stable than that on OTS with mobility comparable to amorphous Si TFTs. VT shifts caused by ON (30 V) and OFF (,20 V) gate bias stress for the HMDS samples for 1 hour were 1.79 V and 1.27 V under N2, respectively, and relaxation times of 106 and 107 s were obtained using the stretched exponential model. These performances are promising for use in transparent display backplanes. [source]

Organic Electronics: High Tg Cyclic Olefin Copolymer Gate Dielectrics for N,N,-Ditridecyl Perylene Diimide Based Field-Effect Transistors: Improving Performance and Stability with Thermal Treatment (Adv. Funct.

ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 16 2010
Mater.
Abstract A novel application of ethylene-norbornene cyclic olefin copolymers (COC) as gate dielectric layers in organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) that require thermal annealing as a strategy for improving the OFET performance and stability is reported. The thermally-treated N,N, -ditridecyl perylene diimide (PTCDI-C13)-based n-type FETs using a COC/SiO2 gate dielectric show remarkably enhanced atmospheric performance and stability. The COC gate dielectric layer displays a hydrophobic surface (water contact angle = 95° ± 1°) and high thermal stability (glass transition temperature = 181 °C) without producing crosslinking. After thermal annealing, the crystallinity improves and the grain size of PTCDI-C13 domains grown on the COC/SiO2 gate dielectric increases significantly. The resulting n-type FETs exhibit high atmospheric field-effect mobilities, up to 0.90 cm2 V,1 s,1 in the 20 V saturation regime and long-term stability with respect to H2O/O2 degradation, hysteresis, or sweep-stress over 110 days. By integrating the n-type FETs with p-type pentacene-based FETs in a single device, high performance organic complementary inverters that exhibit high gain (exceeding 45 in ambient air) are realized. [source]

High Tg Cyclic Olefin Copolymer Gate Dielectrics for N,N,-Ditridecyl Perylene Diimide Based Field-Effect Transistors: Improving Performance and Stability with Thermal Treatment

ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 16 2010
Jaeyoung Jang
Abstract A novel application of ethylene-norbornene cyclic olefin copolymers (COC) as gate dielectric layers in organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) that require thermal annealing as a strategy for improving the OFET performance and stability is reported. The thermally-treated N,N, -ditridecyl perylene diimide (PTCDI-C13)-based n-type FETs using a COC/SiO2 gate dielectric show remarkably enhanced atmospheric performance and stability. The COC gate dielectric layer displays a hydrophobic surface (water contact angle = 95° ± 1°) and high thermal stability (glass transition temperature = 181 °C) without producing crosslinking. After thermal annealing, the crystallinity improves and the grain size of PTCDI-C13 domains grown on the COC/SiO2 gate dielectric increases significantly. The resulting n-type FETs exhibit high atmospheric field-effect mobilities, up to 0.90 cm2 V,1 s,1 in the 20 V saturation regime and long-term stability with respect to H2O/O2 degradation, hysteresis, or sweep-stress over 110 days. By integrating the n-type FETs with p-type pentacene-based FETs in a single device, high performance organic complementary inverters that exhibit high gain (exceeding 45 in ambient air) are realized. [source]

Organic Field-Effect Transistors: Planarization of Polymeric Field-Effect Transistors: Improvement of Nanomorphology and Enhancement of Electrical Performance (Adv. Funct.

ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 14 2010
Mater.
Contact geometry plays an important role in charge injection and transport in organic field-effect transistors. On page 2216, T. Kowalewski, L. M. Porter, et al. show a dramatic effect of electrode planarization on the polymer morphology at the contact edges and a resulting increase in fi eld-effect mobility in short channel length devices, and a corresponding decrease in contact resistance. The cover image shows atomic force micrograph of individual polymer nanofi brils spanning the length of a 10 µm channel transistor with planarized contacts. [source]

Planarization of Polymeric Field-Effect Transistors: Improvement of Nanomorphology and Enhancement of Electrical Performance

ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 14 2010
Kumar A. Singh
Abstract The planarization of bottom-contact organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) resulting in dramatic improvement in the nanomorphology and an associated enhancement in charge injection and transport is reported. Planar OFETs based on regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene) (rr-P3HT) are fabricated wherein the Au bottom-contacts are recessed completely in the gate-dielectric. Normal OFETs having a conventional bottom-contact configuration with 50-nm-high contacts are used for comparison purpose. A modified solvent-assisted drop-casting process is utilized to form extremely thin rr-P3HT films. This process is critical for direct visualization of the effect of planarization on the polymer morphology. Atomic force micrographs (AFM) show that in a normal OFET the step between the surface of the contacts and the gate dielectric disrupts the self-assembly of the rr-P3HT film, resulting in poor morphology at the contact edges. The planarization of contacts results in notable improvement of the nanomorphology of rr-P3HT, resulting in lower resistance to charge injection. However, an improvement in field-effect mobility is observed only at short channel lengths. AFM shows the presence of well-ordered nanofibrils extending over short channel lengths. At longer channel lengths the presence of grain boundaries significantly minimizes the effect of improvement in contact geometry as the charge transport becomes channel-limited. [source]

The Influence of Film Morphology in High-Mobility Small-Molecule:Polymer Blend Organic Transistors

ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 14 2010
Jeremy Smith
Abstract Organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) based upon blends of small molecular semiconductors and polymers show promise for high performance organic electronics applications. Here the charge transport characteristics of high mobility p-channel organic transistors based on 2,8-difluoro-5,11-bis(triethylsilylethynyl) anthradithiophene:poly(triarylamine) blend films are investigated. By simple alteration of the film processing conditions two distinct film microstructures can be obtained: one characterized by small spherulitic grains (SG) and one by large grains (LG). Charge transport measurements reveal thermally activated hole transport in both SG and LG film microstructures with two distinct temperature regimes. For temperatures >115,K, gate voltage dependent activation energies (EA) in the range of 25,60 meV are derived. At temperatures <115,K, the activation energies are smaller and typically in the range 5,30 meV. For both film microstructures hole transport appears to be dominated by trapping at the grain boundaries. Estimates of the trap densities suggests that LG films with fewer grain boundaries are characterized by a reduced number of traps that are less energetically disordered but deeper in energy than for small SG films. The effects of source and drain electrode treatment with self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on current injection is also investigated. Fluorinated thiol SAMs were found to alter the work function of gold electrodes by up to ,1,eV leading to a lower contact resistance. However, charge transport analysis suggests that electrode work function is not the only parameter to consider for efficient charge injection. [source]

High-Performance Air-Stable n-Type Organic Transistors Based on Core-Chlorinated Naphthalene Tetracarboxylic Diimides

ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 13 2010
Joon Hak Oh
Abstract Core-chlorinated naphthalene tetracarboxylic diimides (NDIs) with fluoroalkyl chains are synthesized and employed for n-channel organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs). Structural analyses of the single crystals and thin films are performed and their charge-transport behavior is investigated in terms of structure,property relationships. NDIs with two chlorine substituents are shown to exhibit a herringbone structure with a very close ,-plane distance (3.3,3.4,Å), a large ,-stack overlap (slipping angle ca. 62°), and high crystal densities (2.046,2.091,g,cm,3). These features result in excellent field-effect mobilities of up to 1.43,cm2,V,1,s,1 with minimal hysteresis and high on,off ratios (ca. 107) in air. This is similar to the highest n-channel mobilities in air reported so far. Despite the repulsive interactions of bulky Cl substituents, tetrachlorinated NDIs adopt a slip-stacked face-to-face packing with an interplanar distance of around 3.4,Å, resulting in a high mobility (up to 0.44,cm2,V,1,s,1). The air-stability of dichlorinated NDIs is superior to that of tetrachlorinated NDIs, despite of their higher LUMO levels. This is closely related to the denser packing of the fluorocarbon chains of dichlorinated NDIs, which serves as a kinetic barrier to the diffusion of ambient oxidants. Interestingly, these NDIs show an optimal performance either on bare SiO2 or on octadecyltrimethoxysilane (OTS)-treated SiO2, depending on the carbon number of the fluoroalkyl chains. Their synthetic simplicity and processing versatility combined with their high performance make these semiconductors highly promising for practical applications in flexible electronics. [source]