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Wei P, Shen Z, Qin X, Zhang P, Bu L, Chen Q, Roth SV, Lu G. Improving Charge Injection at Gold/Conjugated Polymer Contacts by Polymer Insulator-Assisted Annealing for Transistors. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2022; 18:e2105896. [PMID: 34913586 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202105896] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2021] [Revised: 11/17/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The poor chemical miscibility between metal and organic materials usually leads to both structural and energetic mismatches at gold/organic interfaces, and thereby, high contact resistance of organic electronic devices. This study shows that the contact resistance of organic field-effect transistors is significantly reduced by one order of magnitude, by reforming the contact interface between gold electrodes and conjugated polymers upon a polymer insulator-assisted thermal annealing. Upon an optimized solution process, the conjugated polymer is homogenously distributed within the amorphous polymer insulator matrix with relatively low glass transition temperature, and thus, even a moderate annealing temperature can induce sufficient motion of conjugated polymer chains to simultaneously adjust the polymer orientation and improve the packing of gold atoms. Consequently, gold/conjugated polymer contact is reorganized after annealing, which improves both charge transport from bulk gold to interface and charge injection from gold into conjugated polymers. This method, with appropriate insulator matrix, is effective for improving the injection of both holes and electrons, and widely applicable for many unipolar and ambipolar conjugated polymers to optimize the device performance and simultaneously increase the optical transparency (over 80%). A frequency doubler and a phase modulator are demonstrated, respectively, using the ambipolar transistors with optimized charge injection properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peng Wei
- State Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Power Equipment, and Frontier Institute of Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710054, China
| | - Zichao Shen
- State Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Power Equipment, and Frontier Institute of Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710054, China
| | - Xinsu Qin
- School of Chemistry, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710049, China
| | - Peng Zhang
- School of Material Science and Engineering, PCFM Lab, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510275, China
| | - Laju Bu
- School of Chemistry, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710049, China
| | - Qing Chen
- Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Notkestr. 85, D-22607, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Stephan V Roth
- Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Notkestr. 85, D-22607, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Guanghao Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Power Equipment, and Frontier Institute of Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710054, China
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Natali M, Prosa M, Longo A, Brucale M, Mercuri F, Buonomo M, Lago N, Benvenuti E, Prescimone F, Bettini C, Cester A, Melucci M, Muccini M, Toffanin S. On the Nature of Charge-Injecting Contacts in Organic Field-Effect Transistors. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2020; 12:30616-30626. [PMID: 32519550 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.0c05106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
Organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) are key enabling devices for plastic electronics technology, which has a potentially disruptive impact on a variety of application fields, such as health, safety, and communication. Despite the tremendous advancements in understanding the OFET working mechanisms and device performance, further insights into the complex correlation between the nature of the charge-injecting contacts and the electrical characteristics of devices are still necessary. Here, an in-depth study of the metal-organic interfaces that provides a direct correlation to the performance of OFET devices is reported. The combination of synchrotron X-ray spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, electron microscopy, and theoretical simulations on two selected electron transport organic semiconductors with tailored chemical structures allows us to gain insights into the nature of the injecting contacts. This multiple analysis repeated at the different stages of contact formation provides a clear picture on the synergy between organic/metal interactions, interfacial morphology, and structural organization of the electrode. The simultaneous synchrotron X-ray experiments and electrical measurements of OFETs in operando uncovers how the nature of the charge-injecting contacts has a direct impact on the injection potential of OFETs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Natali
- Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR)-Istituto per lo Studio dei Materiali Nanostrutturati (ISMN), Via P. Gobetti 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy
| | - Mario Prosa
- Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR)-Istituto per lo Studio dei Materiali Nanostrutturati (ISMN), Via P. Gobetti 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy
| | - Alessandro Longo
- Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR)-Istituto per lo Studio dei Materiali Nanostrutturati (ISMN), Via P. Gobetti 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy
- European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, The European Synchrotron, 71 Avenue des Martyrs, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Marco Brucale
- Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR)-Istituto per lo Studio dei Materiali Nanostrutturati (ISMN), Via P. Gobetti 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy
| | - Francesco Mercuri
- Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR)-Istituto per lo Studio dei Materiali Nanostrutturati (ISMN), Via P. Gobetti 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy
| | - Marco Buonomo
- Department of Information Engineering, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Nicolò Lago
- Department of Information Engineering, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Emilia Benvenuti
- Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR)-Istituto per lo Studio dei Materiali Nanostrutturati (ISMN), Via P. Gobetti 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy
| | - Federico Prescimone
- Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR)-Istituto per lo Studio dei Materiali Nanostrutturati (ISMN), Via P. Gobetti 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy
| | - Cristian Bettini
- Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR)-Istituto per la Sintesi Organica e la Fotoreattività (ISOF), Via P. Gobetti 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy
| | - Andrea Cester
- Department of Information Engineering, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy
| | - Manuela Melucci
- Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR)-Istituto per la Sintesi Organica e la Fotoreattività (ISOF), Via P. Gobetti 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy
| | - Michele Muccini
- Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR)-Istituto per lo Studio dei Materiali Nanostrutturati (ISMN), Via P. Gobetti 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy
| | - Stefano Toffanin
- Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR)-Istituto per lo Studio dei Materiali Nanostrutturati (ISMN), Via P. Gobetti 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy
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