Systematic reliability study of top-gate p- and n-channel organic field-effect transistors

Bacteria Contaminants Detected by Organic Inverter-Based Biosensors

The importance of bacteria detection lies in its role in enabling early intervention, disease prevention, environmental protection, and effective treatment strategies. Advancements in technology continually enhance the speed, accuracy, and sensitivity of detection methods, aiding in addressing these critical issues. This study first reports the fabrication of an inverter constructed using crosslinked-poly(4-vinylphenol) (C-PVP) as the dielectric layer and an organic complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (O-CMOS) based on pentacene and N,N'-ditridecylperylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylic diimide (PTCDI-C13) as a diagnostic biosensor to rapidly detect bacterial concentration. Bacteria including Escherichia coli O157, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC25922, and Enterococcus faecalis SH-1051210 were analysed on the inverters at an ultra-low operating voltage of 2 V. The high density of negative charge on bacteria surfaces strongly modulates the accumulated negative carriers within the inverter channel, resulting in a shift of the switching voltage. The inverter-based bacteria sensor exhibits a linear-like response to bacteria concentrations ranging from 102 to 108 CFU/mL, with a sensitivity above 60%. Compared to other bacterial detectors, the advantage of using an inverter lies in its ability to directly read the switching voltage without requiring an external computing device. This facilitates rapid and accurate bacterial concentration measurement, offering significant ease of use and potential for mass production.

Achieving Ideal and Environmentally Stable n-Type Charge Transport in Polymer Field-Effect Transistors

Realizing ideal charge transport in field-effect transistors (FETs) of conjugated polymers is crucial for evaluating device performance, such as carrier mobility and practical applications of conjugated polymers. However, the current FETs using conjugated polymers as the active layers generally show certain non-ideal transport characteristics and poor stability. Here, ideal charge transport of n-type polymer FETs is achieved on flexible polyimide substrates by using an organic-inorganic hybrid double-layer dielectric. Deposited conjugated polymer films show highly ordered structures and low disorder, which are supported by grazing-incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering, near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure, and molecular dynamics simulations. Furthermore, the organic-inorganic hybrid double-layer dielectric provides low interfacial defects, leading to excellent charge transport in FETs with high electron mobility (1.49 ± 0.46 cm2 V-1 s-1) and ideal reliability factors (102 ± 7%). Fabricated polymer FETs show a self-encapsulation effect, resulting in high stability of the FET charge transport. The polymer FETs still work with high mobility above 1 cm2 V-1 s-1 after storage in air for more than 300 days. Compared with state-of-the-art conjugated polymer FETs, this work simultaneously achieves ideal charge transport and environmental stability in n-type polymer FETs, facilitating rapid device optimization of high-performance polymer electronics.

Recent Efforts in Understanding and Improving the Nonideal Behaviors of Organic Field-Effect Transistors

Over the past three decades, the mobility of organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) has been improved from 10-5 up to over 10 cm2 V-1 s-1, which reaches or has already satisfied the requirements of demanding applications. However, pronounced nonideal behaviors in current-voltage characteristics are commonly observed, which indicates that the reported mobilities may not truly reflect the device properties. Herein, a comprehensive understanding of the origins of several observed nonidealities (downward, upward, double-slope, superlinear, and humped transfer characteristics) is summarized, and how to extract comparatively reliable mobilities from nonideal behaviors in OFETs is discussed. Combining an overview of the ideal and state-of-the-art OFETs, considerable possible approaches are also provided for future OFETs.

A highly sensitive and versatile chiral sensor based on a top-gate organic field effect transistor functionalized with thiolated β-cyclodextrin

A chiral sensor was successfully constructed by modifying an OFET gate with SH-β-CD.

Ambipolar charge transport in a bis-diketopyrrolopyrrole small molecule semiconductor with tunable energetic disorder

Energetic disorder and activation energy in ambipolar OFETs based on a small molecule BTDPP2 are tuned by its crystallinity.

Stable organic thin-film transistors

Organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) can be fabricated at moderate temperatures and through cost-effective solution-based processes on a wide range of low-cost flexible and deformable substrates. Although the charge mobility of state-of-the-art OTFTs is superior to that of amorphous silicon and approaches that of amorphous oxide thin-film transistors (TFTs), their operational stability generally remains inferior and a point of concern for their commercial deployment. We report on an exhaustive characterization of OTFTs with an ultrathin bilayer gate dielectric comprising the amorphous fluoropolymer CYTOP and an Al₂O₃:HfO₂ nanolaminate. Threshold voltage shifts measured at room temperature over time periods up to 5.9 × 10⁵ s do not vary monotonically and remain below 0.2 V in microcrystalline OTFTs (μc-OTFTs) with field-effect carrier mobility values up to 1.6 cm² V^-1 s^-1. Modeling of these shifts as a function of time with a double stretched-exponential (DSE) function suggests that two compensating aging mechanisms are at play and responsible for this high stability. The measured threshold voltage shifts at temperatures up to 75°C represent at least a one-order-of-magnitude improvement in the operational stability over previous reports, bringing OTFT technologies to a performance level comparable to that reported in the scientific literature for other commercial TFTs technologies.

Organic Field-Effect Transistors with a Bilayer Gate Dielectric Comprising an Oxide Nanolaminate Grown by Atomic Layer Deposition

We report on top-gate OFETs with a bilayer gate dielectric comprising an Al₂O₃ /HfO₂ nanolaminate layer grown by atomic layer deposition and an amorphous fluoro-polymer layer (CYTOP). Top-gate OFETs display average carrier mobility values of 0.9 ± 0.2 cm²/(V s) and threshold voltage values of -1.9 ± 0.5 V and high operational and environmental stability under different environmental conditions such as damp air at 50 °C (80% relative humidity) and prolonged immersion in water at a temperature up to 95 °C.

A Study on Reducing Contact Resistance in Solution-Processed Organic Field-Effect Transistors

We report on the reduction of contact resistance in solution-processed TIPS-pentacene (6,13-bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl)pentacene) and PTAA (poly[bis(4-phenyl)(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)amine]) top-gate bottom-contact organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) by using different contact-modification strategies. The study compares the contact resistance values in devices that comprise Au source/drain electrodes either treated with 2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorothiophenol (PFBT), or modified with an evaporated thin layer of the metal-organic molecular dopant molybdenum tris-[1,2-bis(trifluoromethyl)ethane-1,2-dithiolene] (Mo(tfd)3), or modified with a thin layer of the oxide MoO3. An improved performance is observed in devices modified with Mo(tfd)3 or MoO3 as compared to devices in which Au electrodes are modified with PFBT. We discuss the origin of the decrease in contact resistance in terms of increase of the work function of the modified Au electrodes, Fermi-level pinning effects, and decrease of bulk resistance by electrically doping the organic semiconductor films in the vicinity of the source/drain electrodes.

Controlling carrier trapping and relaxation with a dipole field in an organic field-effect device

A novel polyimide electret using as the gate dielectric layer and charge trapping layer of n-type organic transistors was synthesized to improve the memory effect and electrical stability.

Polyethylenimine Interfacial Layers in Inverted Organic Photovoltaic Devices: Effects of Ethoxylation and Molecular Weight on Efficiency and Temporal Stability

We report a comparative study of polyethylenimine (PEI) and ethoxylated-polyethylenimine (PEIE) cathode buffer layers in high performance inverted organic photovoltaic devices. The work function of the indium-tin oxide (ITO)/zinc oxide (ZnO) cathode was reduced substantially (Δφ = 0.73-1.09 eV) as the molecular weight of PEI was varied from 800 g mol(-1) to 750 000 g mol(-1) compared with the observed much smaller reduction when using a PEIE thin film (Δφ = 0.56 eV). The reference inverted polymer solar cells based on the small band gap polymer PBDTT-FTTE (ITO/ZnO/PBDTT-FTTE:PC70BM/MoO3/Ag), without a cathode buffer layer, had an average power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 6.06 ± 0.22%. Incorporation of a PEIE cathode buffer layer in the same PBDTT-FTTE:PC70BM blend devices gave an enhanced performance with a PCE of 7.37 ± 0.53%. In contrast, an even greater photovoltaic efficiency with a PCE of 8.22 ± 0.10% was obtained in similar PBDTT-FTTE:PC70BM blend solar cells containing a PEI cathode buffer layer. The temporal stability of the inverted polymer solar cells was found to increase with increasing molecular weight of the cathode buffer layer. The results show that PEI is superior to PEIE as a cathode buffer layer in high performance organic photovoltaic devices and that the highest molecular weight PEI interlayer provides the highest temporal stability.

Gate-Bias Stability Behavior Tailored by Dielectric Polymer Stereostructure in Organic Transistors

Understanding charge trapping in a polymer dielectric is critical to the design of high-performance organic field-effect transistors (OFETs). We investigated the OFET stability as a function of the dielectric polymer stereostructure under a gate bias stress and during long-term operation. To this end, iso-, syn-, and atactic poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) polymers with identical molecular weights and polydispersity indices were selected. The PMMA stereostructure was found to significantly influence the charge trapping behavior and trap formation in the polymer dielectrics. This influence was especially strong in the bulk region rather than in the surface region. The regular configurational arrangements (isotactic > syntactic > atactic) of the pendant groups on the PMMA backbone chain facilitated closer packing between the polymer interchains and led to a higher crystallinity of the polymer dielectric, which caused a reduction in the free volumes that act as sites for charge trapping and air molecule absorption. The PMMA dielectrics with regular stereostructures (iso- and syn-stereoisomers) exhibited more stable OFET operation under bias stress compared to devices prepared using irregular a-PMMA in both vacuum and air.

Stable low-voltage operation top-gate organic field-effect transistors on cellulose nanocrystal substrates

We report on the performance and the characterization of top-gate organic field-effect transistors (OFETs), comprising a bilayer gate dielectric of CYTOP/Al2O3 and a solution-processed semiconductor layer made of a blend of TIPS-pentacene:PTAA, fabricated on recyclable cellulose nanocrystal-glycerol (CNC/glycerol) substrates. These OFETs exhibit low operating voltage, low threshold voltage, an average field-effect mobility of 0.11 cm(2)/(V s), and good shelf and operational stability in ambient conditions. To improve the operational stability in ambient a passivation layer of Al2O3 is grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD) directly onto the CNC/glycerol substrates. This layer protects the organic semiconductor layer from moisture and other chemicals that can either permeate through or diffuse out of the substrate.

Polyethylenimine aqueous solution: a low-cost and environmentally friendly formulation to produce low-work-function electrodes for efficient easy-to-fabricate organic solar cells

Polyethylenimine (PEI) has been widely used to produce low-work-function electrodes. Generally, PEI modification is prepared by spin coating from 2-methoxyethanol solution. In this work, we explore the method for PEI modification on indium tin oxide (ITO) by dipping the ITO sample into PEI aqueous solution for organic solar cells. The PEI prepared in this method could reduce the work function of ITO as effectively as PEI prepared by spin coating from 2-methoxyethanol solution. H2O as the processing solvent is more environmentally friendly and much cheaper compared to the 2-methoxyethanol solvent. The dipping method is also compatible with large-area samples. With low-work-function ITO treated by the dipping method, solar cells with a simple structure of glass/ITO/PEI(dipping)/P3HT:ICBA/PEDOT:PSS(vacuum-free processing) display a high open-circuit voltage of 0.86 ± 0.01, a high fill factor of 66 ± 2%, and power conversion efficiency of 4.4 ± 0.3% under 100 mW/cm(2) illumination.