One-Step Coating Processed Phototransistors Enabled by Phase Separation of Semiconductor and Dielectric Blend Film

A high-performance organic thin-film transistor with Parylene/PMMA bilayer insulation based on P3HT

This work introduces a pioneering approach in the development of organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs), featuring a double-layer dielectric structure that combines poly(para-xylylene)s (Parylene) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) to leverage the high insulation properties and high surface polarity of Parylene with the low insulation properties and low surface polarity of PMMA. This combination results in devices that showcase significantly enhanced electrical performance, including superior charge carrier mobility, increased current on/off ratios, and greater transconductance. Utilizing poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) for the active layer, the study demonstrates the advantage of the dual dielectric layers in minimizing hysteresis in the transfer curve, thereby facilitating the systematic growth of the organic active layer and enhancing electrical conductivity over single-layer alternatives. The superior performance of the Parylene/PMMA double-layer insulating structure opens new avenues for the advancement of organic electronics, presenting methodologies for performance optimization and expanding the application spectrum of OTFTs.

Enhanced detectivity of PbS quantum dots infrared photodetector by introducing the tunneling effect of PMMA

With extremely high optical absorption coefficient in infrared regime, lead sulfide (PbS) quantum dots (QDs)-based photodetectors are promising for diverse applications. In recent years, synthesis of materials has made great progress, but the problem of low sensitivity of quantum dots photodetector still unresolved. In this work, the introduction of a tunneling organic layer effectively address this problem. The dark current is decreased by the appropriate thickness of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) barrier layer by suppressing the spontaneous migration of ions, and the photogenerated carriers are little effected, thereby the responsivity of the device is improved. As a result, the device exhibits a high responsivity of 3.73 × 10⁵ mA W^-1 and a giant specific detectivity of 4.01 × 10¹³ Jones at a low voltage of -1 V under 1064 nm illumination. In the self-powered mode, the responsivity reaches a value of 157.6 mA W^-1, and the detectivity up to 5.9 × 10¹¹ Jones. The performance of the photodetectors is obviously better than most of the reported QDs photodetectors. The design of this device structure provides a new solution to the problem of low sensitivity and high leakage current of quantum dots based infrared photodetectors.

Straightforward Patterning of Functional Polymers by Sequential Nanosecond Pulsed Laser Irradiation

Laser-based methods have demonstrated to be effective in the fabrication of surface micro- and nanostructures, which have a wide range of applications, such as cell culture, sensors or controlled wettability. One laser-based technique used for micro- and nanostructuring of surfaces is the formation of laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS). LIPSS are formed upon repetitive irradiation at fluences well below the ablation threshold and in particular, linear structures are formed in the case of irradiation with linearly polarized laser beams. In this work, we report on the simple fabrication of a library of ordered nanostructures in a polymer surface by repeated irradiation using a nanosecond pulsed laser operating in the UV and visible region in order to obtain nanoscale-controlled functionality. By using a combination of pulses at different wavelengths and sequential irradiation with different polarization orientations, it is possible to obtain different geometries of nanostructures, in particular linear gratings, grids and arrays of nanodots. We use this experimental approach to nanostructure the semiconductor polymer poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and the ferroelectric copolymer poly[(vinylidenefluoride-co-trifluoroethylene] (P(VDF-TrFE)) since nanogratings in semiconductor polymers, such as P3HT and nanodots, in ferroelectric systems are viewed as systems with potential applications in organic photovoltaics or non-volatile memories.