Tailoring the Dielectric Layer Structure for Enhanced Performance of Organic Field-Effect Transistors: The Use of a Sandwiched Polar Dielectric Layer

Solution-Processed Polymer Dielectric Interlayer for Low-Voltage, Unipolar n-Type Organic Field-Effect Transistors

The integration of organic electronic circuits into real-life applications compels the fulfillment of a range of requirements, among which the ideal operation at a low voltage with reduced power consumption is paramount. Moreover, these performance factors should be achieved via solution-based fabrication schemes in order to comply with the promise of cost- and energy-efficient manufacturing offered by an organic, printed electronic technology. Here, we propose a solution-based route for the fabrication of low-voltage organic transistors, encompassing ideal device operation at voltages below 5 V and exhibiting n-type unipolarization. This process is widely applicable to a variety of semiconducting and dielectric materials. We achieved this through the use of a photo-cross-linked, low-k dielectric interlayer, which is used to fabricate multilayer dielectric stacks with areal capacitances of up to 40 nF/cm2 and leakage currents below 1 nA/cm2. Because of the chosen azide-based cross-linker, the dielectric promotes n-type unipolarization of the transistors and demonstrated to be compatible with different classes of semiconductors, from conjugated polymers to carbon nanotubes and low-temperature metal oxides. Our results demonstrate a general applicability of our unipolarizing dielectric, facilitating the implementation of complementary circuitry of emerging technologies with reduced power consumption.

Light-enhanced molecular polarity enabling multispectral color-cognitive memristor for neuromorphic visual system

An optoelectronic synapse having a multispectral color-discriminating ability is an essential prerequisite to emulate the human retina for realizing a neuromorphic visual system. Several studies based on the three-terminal transistor architecture have shown its feasibility; however, its implementation with a two-terminal memristor architecture, advantageous to achieving high integration density as a simple crossbar array for an ultra-high-resolution vision chip, remains a challenge. Furthermore, regardless of the architecture, it requires specific material combinations to exhibit the photo-synaptic functionalities, and thus its integration into various systems is limited. Here, we suggest an approach that can universally introduce a color-discriminating synaptic functionality into a two-terminal memristor irrespective of the kinds of switching medium. This is possible by simply introducing the molecular interlayer with long-lasting photo-enhanced dipoles that can adjust the resistance of the memristor at the light-irradiation. We also propose the molecular design principle that can afford this feature. The optoelectronic synapse array having a color-discriminating functionality is confirmed to improve the inference accuracy of the convolutional neural network for the colorful image recognition tasks through a visual pre-processing. Additionally, the wavelength-dependent optoelectronic synapse can also be leveraged in the design of a light-programmable reservoir computing system.

Improved device efficiency and lifetime of perovskite light-emitting diodes by size-controlled polyvinylpyrrolidone-capped gold nanoparticles with dipole formation

Herein, an unprecedented report is presented on the incorporation of size-dependent gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) capping into a conventional hole transport layer, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS). The hole transport layer blocks ion-diffusion/migration in methylammonium-lead-bromide (MAPbBr₃)-based perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs) as a modified interlayer. The PVP-capped 90 nm AuNP device exhibited a seven-fold increase in efficiency (1.5%) as compared to the device without AuNPs (0.22%), where the device lifetime was also improved by 17-fold. This advancement is ascribed to the far-field scattering of AuNPs, modified work function and carrier trapping/detrapping. The improvement in device lifetime is attributed to PVP-capping of AuNPs which prevents indium diffusion into the perovskite layer and surface ion migration into PEDOT:PSS through the formation of induced electric dipole. The results also indicate that using large AuNPs (> 90 nm) reduces exciton recombination because of the trapping of excess charge carriers due to the large surface area.

Management of transition dipoles in organic hole-transporting materials under solar irradiation for perovskite solar cells

In organic hole-transporting material (HTM)-based p−i−n planar perovskite solar cells, which have simple and low-temperature processibility feasible to flexible devices, the incident light has to pass through the HTM before reaching the perovskite layer. Therefore, photo-excited state of organic HTM could become important during the solar cell operation, but this feature has not usually been considered for the HTM design. Here, we prove that enhancing their property at their photo-excited states, especially their transition dipole moments, can be a methodology to develop high efficiency p−i−n perovskite solar cells. The organic HTMs are designed to have high transition dipole moments at the excited states and simultaneously to preserve those property during the solar cell operation by their extended lifetimes through the excited-state intramolecular proton transfer process, consequently reducing the charge recombination and improving extraction properties of devices. Their UV-filtering ability is also beneficial to enhance the photostability of devices.

In perovskite solar cells, the excited state property of hole-transport layer is not usually considered for the devices. Here the authors design organic hole-transport materials with high transition dipoles having extended lifetime at the excited states to improve the charge extraction of the devices.

Synergistic Enhancement of Thermal Conductivity and Dielectric Properties in Al₂O₃/BaTiO₃/PP Composites

Multifunctional polymer composites with both high dielectric constants and high thermal conductivity are urgently needed by high-temperature electronic devices and modern microelectromechanical systems. However, high heat-conduction capability or dielectric properties of polymer composites all depend on high-content loading of different functional thermal-conductive or high-dielectric ceramic fillers (every filler volume fraction ≥ 50%, i.e., ffiller ≥ 50%), and an overload of various fillers (fthermal-conductivefiller + fhigh-dielectricfiller > 50%) will decrease the processability and mechanical properties of the composite. Herein, series of alumina/barium titanate/polypropylene (Al₂O₃/BT/PP) composites with high dielectric- and high thermal-conductivity properties are prepared with no more than 50% volume fraction of total ceramic fillers loading, i.e., ffillers ≤ 50%. Results showed the thermal conductivity of the Al₂O₃/BT/PP composite is up to 0.90 W/m·K with only 10% thermal-conductive Al₂O₃ filler, which is 4.5 times higher than the corresponding Al₂O₃/PP composites. Moreover, higher dielectric strength (Eb) is also found at the same loading, which is 1.6 times higher than PP, and the Al₂O₃/BT/PP composite also exhibited high dielectric constant ( ε r = 18 at 1000 Hz) and low dielectric loss (tan δ ≤ 0.030). These excellent performances originate from the synergistic mechanism between BaTiO₃ macroparticles and Al₂O₃ nanoparticles.

Highly Contrasting Static Charging and Bias Stress Effects in Pentacene Transistors with Polystyrene Heterostructures Incorporating Oxidizable N,N'-Bis(4-methoxyphenyl)aniline Side Chains as Gate Dielectrics

Charge storage and trapping properties of polymer dielectrics govern the charge densities of adjacent semiconductors and greatly influence the on-off switching voltage (threshold voltage,V t h ) of organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) when the polymers are used as gate insulators. Intentional charging of polymer dielectrics in OFETs can changeV t h and affect the bias stress. We describe a chemical design and fabrication protocol to construct multilayer-stack dielectrics for pentacene-based OFETs using different polystyrene (PS)-based polymers in each layer, with oxidizable N,N-bis(4-methoxyphenyl)anilino (TPAOMe)-substituted styrene copolymers in arbitrary vertical positions in the stacks. Thermal, byproduct-free cross-linking of benzocyclobutene subunits provides integrity to the multilayer structure by preventing dissolution of the previous deposited layer. Neutron reflectivity data verified the multilayer morphology. We compared theV t h shift before and after charging the stacks by application of ±100 V across 0.5-1 μm total film thicknesses. Bias stress was the dominant effect in bilayer devices with a TPAOMe layer in contact with the pentacene, indicated by the direction ofV t h shift associated with either polarity of external electric field. In structures with no TPAOMe subunit in contact with the pentacene, when charging with -100 V on top of the source and drain electrodes, electron injection from pentacene to dielectric was the major charging mechanism, again consistent with the bias stress direction. When charging with +100 V, bilayer devices without TPAOMe showed little change inV t h , suggesting there was no bias stress effect or charge injection in these devices for this charging polarity. For the bilayer devices with the TPAOMe layer in the bottom, and the trilayer devices with TPOMe in the middle, when +100 V was applied, theV t h shifts were opposite those expected from bias stress. Dipole formation or partial ionization of chargeable groups at the interface between the dielectric layers are likely polarization mechanisms in these cases. A simple analytical model levelports the plausibility of these mechanisms. This work provides examples of both stabilization and shifting ofV t h , and therefore controlling charge carrier density, in semiconductors overlying the dielectric multilayers.