Influence of thermal treatment on the performance of copper phthalocyanine thin-film transistors

Organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) with bottom-gate and bottom-contact configuration based on copper phthalocyanines (CuPc) as active layer were fabricated. The performance of CuPc OTFTs was studied before and after thermal treatment on CuPc layer. The values of the threshold voltage before and after thermal treatment are −6.3 and −5.7 V, respectively. The field-effect mobility values in saturation regime of CuPc thin-film transistors before and after thermal treatment are 0.014 cm²/Vs and 0.0068 cm²/Vs, respectively. The experimental results indicate that there is a heavy decay on the mobility of CuPc based OTFTs mostly due to the crystalline morphology change induced by the thermal treatment, and absolute value of the threshold voltage after thermal treatment decreases with the decrease of the CuPc film thickness and the roughness.     

Electrical in‐situ characterisation of interface stabilised organic thin‐film transistors

We report on the electrical in‐situ characterisation of organic thin film transistors under high vacuum conditions. Model devices in a bottom‐gate/bottom‐contact (coplanar) configuration are electrically characterised in‐situ, monolayer by monolayer (ML), while the organic semiconductor (OSC) is evaporated by organic molecular beam epitaxy (OMBE). Thermal SiO₂ with an optional polymer interface stabilisation layer serves as the gate dielectric and pentacene is chosen as the organic semiconductor. The evolution of transistor param‐ eters is studied on a bi‐layer dielectric of a 150 nm of SiO₂ and 20 nm of poly((±)endo,exo‐bicyclo[2.2.1]hept‐5‐ene‐2,3‐dicarboxylic acid, diphenylester) (PNDPE) and compared to the behaviour on a pure SiO₂ dielectric. The thin layer of PNDPE, which is an intrinsically photo‐patternable organic dielectric, shows an excellent stabilisation performance, significantly reducing the calculated interface trap density at the OSC/dielectric interface up to two orders of magnitude, and thus remarkably improving the transistor performance. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

基于栅绝缘层表面修饰的有机场效应晶体管迁移率的研究进展

栅绝缘层的表面性质对有机场效应晶体管（OFETs）的半导体薄膜的形貌、晶粒生长的有序性和载流子的传输有着重大的影响．研究表明,通过改进栅绝缘层的表面性质,可以有效提高有机场效应晶体管的迁移率．本文综述了OFETs绝缘层表面的粗糙度和表面能对OFETs迁移率的影响,重点探讨了栅绝缘层表面修饰常用的方法,即自组装单层（SAMs）修饰和聚合物修饰与迁移率改进之间的研究进展．最后,展望了该研究方向未来可能的发展趋势．     

有机半导体外延生长的扫描隧道显微镜研究

有机半导体薄膜的光、电等性质取决于有机分子的取向以及长程有序性.研究有机半导体的生长机理以及内在驱动力是一个重要环节.文章通过两个典型生长体系,perylene 在Ru(0001)表面上的生长和tetracene在Ag(110)表面上生长过程的介绍,给出了形成有机半导体晶化薄膜的可能性以及决定其有序生长的内在驱动力.对于perylene 在Ru(0001)表面上的生长,决定其过程的主要驱动力是分子间的相互排斥作用,在单分子层时,由于这种相互作用导致形成Ru(0001)- 12×12-8 perylene有序超结构.而对于tetracene/Ag(110)体系,决定生长的驱动力主要表现为相互吸引作用,因此,在小于单分子层时,tetracene呈有序的岛状生长;而当tetracene膜的厚度大于单分子层时,呈逐层生长模式,并形成具有正交晶系结构的晶化薄膜.     

The photonic perspective of organic light‐emitting transistors

This article will give an overview of the current state‐of‐the‐art of OLETs from the point of view of their photonic characteristics. In particular, the different device structures realized, the materials used and the strategies implemented to integrate optical resonators and waveguiding structures into light‐emitting field‐effect transistors will be reviewed and the main findings discussed. (Picture: Courtesy of E. T. C. srl)     

Performance improvement in pentacene organic thin film transistors by inserting a C60 ultrathin layer

The contact effect on the performances of organic thin film transistors is studied here. A C₆₀ ultrathin layer is inserted between Al source--drain electrode and pentacene to reduce the contact resistance. By a 3 nm C₆₀ modification, the injection barrier is lowered and the contact resistance is reduced. Thus, the field-effect mobility increases from 0.12 to 0.52 cm²/(V·s). It means that inserting a C₆₀ ultra thin layer is a good method to improve the organic thin film transistor (OTFT) performance. The output curve is simulated by using a charge drift model. Considering the contact effect, the field effect mobility is improved to 1.15 cm²/(V·s). It indicates that further reducing the contact resistance of OTFTs should be carried out.     

High‐mobility flexible thin‐film transistors with a low‐temperature zirconium‐doped indium oxide channel layer

Thin film transistors (TFTs) with zirconium‐doped indium oxide (ZrInO) channel layer were successfully fabricated on a flexible PEN substrate with process temperature of only 150 °C. The flexible ZrInO TFT exhibited excellent electrical performance with a saturation mobility of as high as 22.6 cm² V^–1 s^–1, a sub‐threshold swing of 0.39 V/decade and an on/off current ratio of 2.5 × 10⁷. The threshold voltage shifts were 1.89 V and ?1.56 V for the unpassivated flexible ZrInO TFT under positive and negative gate bias stress, respectively. In addition, the flexible ZrInO TFT was able to maintain the relatively stable performance at bending curvatures larger than 20 mm, but the off current increased apparently after bent at 10 mm. Detailed studies showed that Zr had an effect of suppress the free carrier generation without seriously distorting the In₂O₃ lattice. (© 2016 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

V2O5电极修饰对C60/Pentacene双层异质结场效应晶体管性能的影响

制备了用过渡金属氧化物V₂O₅修饰Al源、漏电极的C₆₀/Pentacene双层异质结有机场效应管.该构型器件与未修饰器件相比,呈现出典型的双极型晶体管传输特性.电子迁移率和空穴迁移率分别达到8.6×10^-2cm²/V·s^-1和6.4×10^-2cm²/V·s^-1,阈值电压分别为25 V和-25 V.器件性能改善的原因主要是由于插入V₂O₅修饰层后,可以明显降低Al电极与Pentacene之间的接触势垒,提高空穴的有效注入,从而使电子和空穴的注入接近平衡.研究表明,采用V₂O₅修饰电极方法,是制备低成本、高性能的双极型有机场效应管并实现其商业应用的有效途径.     

对以并五苯和酞菁铜为不同有源层的有机薄膜晶体管特性研究

通过扫描电镜和X射线衍射对SiO₂衬底上生长并五苯和酞菁铜薄膜的表面形貌进行表征,并得到在SiO₂衬底上生长的并五苯薄膜是以岛状结构生长,其大小约为100nm,且薄膜有较好的结晶取向,呈多晶态存在. 酞菁铜薄膜则没有表现出明显的生长机理,其呈非晶态存在. 还对通过掩膜的方法制作得以酞菁铜和并五苯为有源层的顶栅极有机薄膜晶体管的特性进行了研究. 有源层的厚度为40nm,绝缘层SiO₂的厚度为250nm,器件的沟道宽长比(W/关键词： 有机薄膜晶体管 并五苯薄膜 酞菁铜薄膜 μ_EF)')" href="#">场效应迁移率(μ_EF)     

Self‐assembly of poly(3‐hexylthiophene) nanowire networks by a mixed‐solvent approach for organic field‐effect transistors

Organic field‐effect transistors (OFETs) based on interconnected nanowire networks of P3HT have been successfully fabricated by using a mixed‐solvent method. The nanowire network density can be tuned by controlling the anisole/chlorobenzene ratio of mixed solvents. The obtained field‐effect mobility, threshold voltage and the ratio of on‐state current and off‐state current (I_on/I_off) was 0.0435 cm²/V s, –10 V and 1.75 × 10⁴, respectively. The three‐dimensional and interconnected nanowire structure of the networks can enhance the charge transport in P3HT.

     

Electrical characteristics of top contact pentacene organic thin film transistors with SiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> and poly(methyl methacrylate) as gate dielectrics

Organic thin film transistors (OTFTs) were fabricated using pentacene as the active layer with two different gate dielectrics, namely SiO₂ and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), in top contact geometry for comparative studies. OTFTs with SiO₂ as dielectric and gold deposited on the rough side of highly doped silicon (n⁺-Si) as gate electrode exhibited reasonable field effect mobilities. To deal with poor stability and large leakage currents between source/drain and gate electrodes in these devices, isolated OTFTs with reduced source/drain contact area were fabricated by selective deposition of pentacene on SiO₂/PMMA through shadow mask. This led to almost negligible leakage currents and no degradation in electrical performance even after 14 days of storage under ambient conditions. But, the field effect mobilities obtained were lower than 10⁻³ cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹, whereas by using PMMA as gate dielectric with chromium deposited on the polished side of n⁺-Si as gate electrode, improved field effect mobilities (>0.02 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹) were obtained. PMMA-based OTFTs also exhibited lower leakage currents and reproducible output characteristics even after 30 days of storage under ambient conditions.      

Double‐layer channel structure based ZnO thin‐film transistor grown by atomic layer deposition

A double channel structure has been used by depositing a thin amorphous‐AlZnO (a‐AZO) layer grown by atomic layer deposition between a ZnO channel and a gate dielectric to enhance the electrical stability. The effect of the a‐AZO layer on the electrical stability of a‐AZO/ZnO thin‐film transistors (TFTs) has been investigated under positive gate bias and temperature stress test. The use of the a‐AZO layer with 5 nm thickness resulted in enhanced subthreshold swing and decreased V_th shift under positive gate bias/temperature stress. In addition, the falling rate of the oxide TFT using a‐AZO/ ZnO double channel had a larger value (0.35 eV/V) than that of pure ZnO TFT (0.24 eV/V). These results suggest that the interface trap density between dielectric and channel was reduced by inserting a‐AZO layer at the interface between the channel and the gate insulator, compared with pure ZnO channel. (© 2014 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Identification of grain boundaries as degradation site in n‐channel organic field‐effect transistors determined via conductive atomic force microscopy

One important figure of merit for the commercial usability of organic transistors (OFETs) is their electrical stability. With the aim of identifying the microscopic location of degradation sites within a transistor channel, we have investigated the bias stress stability of OFETs by electrical measurements as well as by conductive atomic force microscopy. Air‐stable n‐channel FETs based on a N,N′‐bis(2‐ethylhexyl)‐1,7(1,6)‐dicyano‐perylene[3,4:9,10]bis (dicarboximide) were fabricated to understand the relation between the thin‐film morphology, the substrate temperature during the vacuum de position with the aim to fabricate transistors with a mobility not dominated by interface traps. The devices showed a maximum carrier mobility of (0.12 ± 0.01) cm²/V s and an on/off ratio up to 10⁷. The electrical performance as well as the bias stress behavior of the semiconductor thin‐films is significantly influenced by grain boundaries. For example, the grain boundary resistance was found to increase upon electrical stress by more than 150% (from 2 ± 0.2 GΩ to 5 ± 1.5 GΩ), while the resistance within the grains remains unchanged. (© 2016 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Effect of antimony doping on the low‐temperature performance of solution‐processed indium oxide thin film transistors

The effects of antimony (Sb) doping on solution‐processed indium oxide (InO_x) thin film transistors (TFTs) were examined. The Sb‐doped InSbO TFT exhibited a high mobility, low gate swing, threshold voltage, and high I_ON/OFF ratio of 4.6 cm²/V s, 0.29 V/decade, 1.9 V, and 3 × 10⁷, respectively. The gate bias and photobias stability of the InSbO TFTs were also improved by Sb doping compared to those of InO_x TFTs. This improvement was attributed to the reduction of oxygen‐related defects and/or the existence of the lone‐pair s‐electron of Sb³⁺ in amorphous InSbO films. (© 2014 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Well-aligned ZnO nanowires grown on Si substrate via metal–organic chemical vapor deposition

ZnO nanowires were grown on silicon substrate by metal–organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) without catalysts. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations along with X-ray diffraction (XRD) results suggest that the ZnO nanowires are single crystals vertically well-aligned to silicon substrate. Room-temperature photoluminescence (PL) measurement reveals strong UV emission and weak green emission, which demonstrates that the nanowires are of good optical properties. The mechanism of the catalyst-free growth of ZnO nanowires on silicon substrate is proposed.     

Influence of polymer dielectric surface energy on thin‐film transistor performance of solution‐processed triethylsilylethynyl anthradithiophene (TES‐ADT)

This study investigates the correlation between surface energy of polymer dielectrics and the film morphology, microstructure, and thin‐film transistor performance of solution‐processed 5,11‐bis(triethylsilylethynyl) anthradithiophene (TES‐ADT) films. The low surface energy polyimide (PI) dielectric induced large grains with strong X‐ray reflections for spin‐cast TES‐ADT films in comparison to high surface en‐ ergy poly(4‐vinyl phenol) (PVP) dielectric. Furthermore, thin‐film transistors based on spin‐cast TES‐ADT films on PI dielectric exhibited enhanced electrical performance, small hysteresis, and high stability under bias stress with carrier mobility as high as 0.43 cm²/Vs and a current on/off ratio of 10⁷. (© 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Integrated fluorescence sensor based on ring‐shaped organic photodiodes

We demonstrate a novel sensor type, which is based on the monolithic integration of luminescent optical sensor spots together with ring‐shaped thin‐film organic photodiodes on one substrate. The organic photodiodes serve as integrated fluorescence detectors, simplifying the detection system by minimizing the number of required optical components. The proposed concept enables filter‐less discrimination between excitation light and generated fluorescence light. The functionality of the concept is demonstrated by an integrated oxygen sensor, exhibiting excellent performance. The sensor spots are excited by an assembled organic light emitting diode. The integrated optical sensor platform is suitable for the parallel detection of multiple parameters. Sensor schemes for the analytical parameters carbon dioxide, temperature and ammonia, are proposed.

     

The application of a new approach based on organic homo‐rank compounds and homologous compounds to the structure–property relationship study of mono‐substituted alkanes

The two conceptual systems of organic homologous compounds and homo‐rank compounds give insight into the influence of structures on the properties of mono‐substituted alkanes X_i–(CH₂)_j–H from the transverse (change of repeating unit number j of CH₂) and longitudinal (change of functional group X_i) perspectives, respectively. This paper aims to combine the organic homo‐rank compounds approach together with the homologous compounds approach to explore the property change rules of mono‐substituted alkanes involving various substituents. Firstly, based on the concept of organic homologous compounds, the properties of mono‐substituted straight‐chain alkane homologues were linearly correlated to the two‐thirds power of the number of carbon atoms (N^2/3) in alkyl, and regression equations such as Q = A + BN^2/3 were obtained. The regression coefficients A and B vary with different substituents X_i, so coefficients A and B were employed to characterize the structural information of substituent X_i. The structural features of alkyls (–(CH₂)_j–H, that is, –C_jH_2j+1) were described by the polarizability effect index (PEI_(R)) and vertex degree–distance index (VDI). Then based on four parameters A, B, PEI_(R), and VDI, quantitative structure–property relationship models were built for the boiling points (Bp) and refractive indexes (n_D) of each mono‐substituted alkane homo‐rank series, where j = 3–10 and the substituents X_i involve F, Cl, Br, I, NO₂, CN, NH₂, COOH, CHO, OH, SH, and NC. Good results indicate that the combination of an organic homo‐rank compounds method and a homologous compounds method has exhibited obvious advantages over traditional methods in the quantitative structure–property relationship study of mono‐substituted alkanes concerning various substituents. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Direct conversion of a metal organic compound to epitaxial Sb-doped SnO2 film on a (0 0 1) TiO2 substrate using a KrF laser, and its resulting electrical properties

Epitaxial Sb-doped SnO₂ (0 0 1) thin film on a TiO₂ (0 0 1) substrate was successfully prepared by laser-assisted metal organic deposition at room temperature. The effects of the precursor thin film and laser fluence on the resistivity, carrier concentration, and mobility of the Sb-doped SnO₂ film were investigated. The resistivity of the Sb-doped SnO₂ film prepared by direct irradiation to metal organic film is one order of magnitude lower than that of film prepared by irradiation to amorphous Sb-doped SnO₂ film. From an analysis of Hall measurements, the difference between the resistivity of the Sb-doped SnO₂ film prepared using the metal organic precursor film and that of amorphous precursor film appears to be caused by the mobility. Direct conversion of the metal organic compound by excimer laser irradiation was found to be effective for preparing epitaxial Sb-doped SnO₂ film with low resistivity.