Photocurrent studies of sexythiophene-based OFETs

Photocurrent (PC) spectroscopy is proposed as a reliable tool in the investigation of the transport properties of organic thin-film transistors (OFETs). We have applied PC analyses to the study of the electronic density of states (DOS) distribution of the OFETs with crystalline-mixed films of two derivatives of a conjugated molecule [α-sexithiophene (6T), and its alkylated analogue α,ω-dihexylsexithiophene (DH6T)] as the active semiconductor. We have investigated the modifications in the DOS distribution associated to variations in the carrier density in the OFET channel and we have detected the formation of deep electrically active states in the below-band-gap region, associated to polaron states induced by a prolonged exposure of the device to atmosphere. A clear correlation between the PC results and the electrical characteristics of the corresponding FET devices has been observed.     

Dynamic characterization of charge transport in organic and polymer transistors

In this paper we describe three methods that can be used to measure the transient response of organic and polymer field-effect transistors (FETs) and also how such measurements can be used to determine the drift mobility and velocity. The first method measures the response of a FET to a step voltage applied to the source with the gate grounded and the drain held at close to ground, while the second uses a ramp input to the source. The third technique evaluates the frequency response of the FET, connected as a diode, to a large-signal alternating voltage. We show that important information can be obtained from such measurements which can be quantitatively interpreted with the help of models that we are developing. In general, there is good agreement between the drift mobility measured with these approaches and the field-effect mobility calculated from transistor output and transfer characteristics. The specific results we present in this paper are for pentacene devices; however, other recent work by our group indicates that these results are more general.     

Effect of the intermolecular thermal motions on the tail of the electronic density of states in polyacene crystals

The thermal fluctuation of the intermolecular hopping integral in the series of polyacene crystals (naphthalene, anthracene, tetracene, pentacene) was evaluated computationally using a combined molecular dynamics and quantum chemistry approach. It was shown that these large fluctuations can manifest themselves in a temperature-dependent relatively broad tail of the density of states extending from the valence band into the gap. It was also shown that this tail accounts for a large fraction of all states in the valence band and therefore it may be essential for accurately describing the charge transport and optical properties.     

Bias stress effect in low-voltage organic thin-film transistors

The bias stress effect in pentacene organic thin-film transistors has been investigated. The transistors utilize a thin gate dielectric based on an organic self-assembled monolayer and thus can be operated at low voltages. The bias stress-induced threshold voltage shift has been analyzed for different drain-source voltages. By fitting the time-dependent threshold voltage shift to a stretched exponential function, both the maximum (equilibrium) threshold voltage shift and the time constant of the threshold voltage shift were determined for each drain-source voltage. It was found that both the equilibrium threshold voltage shift and the time constant decrease significantly with increasing drain-source voltage. This suggests that when a drain-source voltage is applied to the transistor during gate bias stress, the tilting of the HOMO and LUMO bands along the channel creates a pathway for the fast release of trapped carriers.     

The electrical and dielectrical behavior of n-conducting perylene tetracarboxylic diimide derivatives

A comparison of the electrical characteristics of organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) based on derivatives of the electron-conductor perylene tetracarboxylic diimide (PTCDI) in top-contact configuration is presented. The derivatives used are N,N′-dimethyl-3,4,9,10-perylene-tetracarboxylic-diimide (DiMe-PTCDI), N,N′-diphenyl-3,4,9,10-perylene-tetracarboxylic-diimide (DiPhenyl-PTCDI), N,N′-dimethoxyethyl-3,4,9,10-perylene-tetracarboxylic-diimide (DiMethoxyethyl-PTCDI), N,N′-di(3-pentyl)-3,4,9,10-perylene-tetracarboxylic-diimide (Di3Pentyl-PTCDI), and N,N′-diheptyl-3,4,9,10-perylene-tetracarboxylic-diimide (DiHeptyl-PTCDI). Current/voltage measurements were first performed in situ and later ex situ. Additionally, the effect of annealing and bias stress was probed in situ. A strong influence of the different side groups on the order of magnitude of the electron mobility is revealed, ranging from 4×10⁻⁶ cm²/V s for DiMethoxyethyl-PTCDI to 5×10⁻² cm²/V s for DiHeptyl-PTCDI. While none of the devices was stable in air after exposition to air, only the DiMe-PTCDI one resumed its functionality after restoring vacuum conditions. The dielectric functions of the derivatives was derived, additionally revealing optical isotropy for all films and varying surface roughness. While DiHeptyl-PTCDI and Di3Pentyl-PTCDI, yielding also the highest electron mobilities, form smooth layers with negligible surface roughness, strong island formation was be observed for DiPhenyl-PTCDI and DiMethoxyethyl-PTCDI, yielding low mobilities. This island growth was also confirmed by atomic force microscopy measurements. Ageing of the samples for several months under ambient conditions leads to increased roughness for the very rough samples. Layers with smooth surface, on the other hand, showed no significant change in the dielectric behavior of the sample.     

Ambipolar organic field-effect transistors on unconventional substrates

In this paper we report on the realization of flexible all-organic ambipolar field-effect transistors (FETs) realized on unconventional substrates, such as plastic films and textile yarns. A double layer pentacene-C₆₀ heterojunction was used as the semiconductor layer. The contacts were made with poly(ethylenedioxythiophene)/poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) and patterned by means of soft lithography microcontact printing (μCP). Very interestingly growing C₆₀ on a predeposited pentacene buffer layer leads to a clear improvement in the morphology and crystallinity of the film so it obtains n-type conduction despite the very high electron injection barrier at the interface between PEDOT:PSS and C₆₀. As a result, it was possible to obtain all-organic ambipolar FETs and to optimize their electrical properties by tuning the thicknesses of the two employed active layers. Moreover, it will be shown that modifying the triple interface between dielectric/semiconductor/electrodes is a crucial point for optimizing and balancing injection and transport of both kinds of charge carriers. In particular, we demonstrate that using a middle contact configuration in which source and drain electrodes are sandwiched between pentacene and C₆₀ layers allows significantly improving the electrical performance in planar ambipolar devices. These findings are very important because they pave the way for the realization of low-cost, fully flexible and stretchable organic complementary circuits for smart wearable and textile electronics applications.     

Gadolinium scandate as an alternative gate dielectric in field effect transistors on conventional and strained silicon

Long channel n-type metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors on thin conventional and strained silicon on insulator substrates have been prepared by integrating gadolinium scandate as high-κ gate dielectric in a gate last process. The GdScO₃ films were deposited by electron beam evaporation and subsequently annealed in oxygen atmosphere. Electrical characterization of readily processed devices reveals well behaved output and transfer characteristics with high I _on/I _off ratios of 10⁶–10⁸, and steep inverse subthreshold slopes down to 66 mV/dec. Carrier mobilities of 155 cm²/Vs for the conventional and 366 cm²/Vs for the strained silicon substrates were determined.     

Kinetic temperature and electron density measurement in?an?inductively coupled plasma torch using degenerate four-wave mixing

Laser wave mixing is presented as an effective technique for spatially resolved kinetic temperature measurements in an atmospheric-pressure radio-frequency inductively coupled plasma. Measurements are performed in a 1 kW, 27 MHz radio-frequency plasma using a continuous-wave, tunable 811.5 nm diode laser to excite the 4s³P₂→4p³D₃ argon transition. Kinetic temperature measurements are made at five radial steps from the center of the torch and at four different torch heights. The kinetic temperature is determined by measuring simultaneously the line shape of the sub-Doppler backward phase-conjugate degenerate four-wave mixing and the Doppler broadened forward-scattering degenerate four-wave mixing. The temperature measurements result in a range of 3,500 to 14,000±150 K. Electron densities measured range from 6.1 (±0.3)×10¹⁵ cm⁻³ to 10.1 (±0.3)×10¹⁵ cm⁻³. The experimental spectra are analyzed using a perturbative treatment of the backward phase-conjugate and forward-geometry wave-mixing theory. The Stark width is determined from the collisional broadening measured in the phase-conjugate geometry. Electron density measurements are made based on the Stark width. The kinetic temperature of the plasma was found to be more than halved by adding deionized water through the nebulizer.     

Quantitative analysis of charge-carrier trapping in organic thin-film transistors from transfer characteristics

A dynamic method for quantifying the amount and mechanism of trapping in organic field effect transistors (OFETs) is proposed. It exploits transfer characteristics acquired upon application of a triangular waveform gate sweep V _G. The analysis of the transfer characteristics at the turning point V _G=−V _max between forward and backward gate sweeps, viz. around the maximum gate voltage V _max applied, provides a differential slope Δm which depends exclusively on trapping. Upon a systematic change of V _max it is possible to extract the initial threshold voltage, equivalent to one of the observables of conventional stress measurements, and assess the mechanism of trapping via the functional dependence on the current. The analysis of the differential logarithmic derivative at the turning point yields the parameters of trapping, as the exponent β and the time scale of trapping τ. In the case of an ultra-thin pentacene OFET we extract β=1 and τ=10²–10³ s, in agreement with an exponential distribution of traps. The analysis of the hysteresis parameter Δm is completely general and explores time scales much shorter than those involved in bias stress measurements, thus avoiding irreversible damage to the device.     

Organic film thickness influence on the bias stress instability in?sexithiophene field effect transistors

In this paper, the dynamics of bias stress phenomenon in Sexithiophene (T6) Field Effect Transistors (FETs) has been investigated. T6 FETs have been fabricated by vacuum depositing films with thickness from 10 to 130 nm on Si/SiO₂ substrates. After the T6 film structural analysis by X-ray diffraction and the FET electrical investigation focused on carrier mobility evaluation, bias stress instability parameters have been estimated and discussed in the context of existing models. By increasing the film thickness, a clear correlation between the stress parameters and the structural properties of the organic layer has been highlighted. Conversely, the mobility values as a result are found to be almost thickness independent.     

Organic thin-film transistors of pentacene films fabricated from a supersonic molecular beam source

Top-contact organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) of pentacene have been fabricated on bare SiO₂ and SiO₂ modified with hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS) and octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS). The pentacene films were deposited from a supersonic molecular beam source with kinetic energy of incident molecules ranging from 1.5 to 6.7 eV. The field-effect mobility of OTFTs was found to increase systematically with increasing kinetic energy of the molecular beam. The improvements are more important on HMDS- and OTS-treated surfaces than on bare SiO₂. Tapping mode atomic force microscopy images reveal that pentacene thin films deposited at high kinetic energy form with significantly larger grains—independent of surface treatment—than films deposited using low-energy beams.     

Influence of self-assembled monolayer chain length on modified gate dielectric pentacene thin-film transistors

Self-assembled monolayers are widely used to modify the gate dielectric/semiconductor interface in organic thin-film transistors. By modifying the interaction between the molecular semiconductor and the substrate, thin-film ordering and the electronic properties of the semiconducting channel can be controlled. The modified semiconductor/dielectric properties result in macroscopically observed changes in the charge-carrier mobilities, threshold voltages, subthreshold swing and transfer characteristic hysteresis. The latter two are determined by the density of charge-trapping states at the interface. Here, we investigate the influence of the thickness of the self-assembled monolayer, via the alkyl chain length in n-alkyl phosphonic acid-based monolayers on SiO₂, on the electronic properties of pentacene-based organic thin-film transistors. Rather than a monotonic increase or decrease in performance with increasing chain length, we have found that the optimum performance occurs with chains of 8–10 carbon atoms. Atomic force microscopy shows a correlation between pentacene crystalline grain size and transistor performance.     

Modelling of contact effects in microcrystalline silicon thin-film transistors

Hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon has recently emerged as a promising material system for large-area electronic applications such as thin-film transistors and solar cells. In this paper, thin-film transistors based on microcrystalline silicon were realized with charge carrier mobilities exceeding 40 cm²/Vs. The electrical characteristics of the microcrystalline silicon thin-film transistors are limited by the influence of contact effects. The influence of the contact effects on the charge carrier mobility was investigated for transistors with different dimensions of the drain and source contacts. The experimental results were compared to an electrical model which describes the influence of the drain and source contact dimension on the transistor parameters. Furthermore, the Transmission Line Method was applied to investigate the contact effects of the thin-film transistors with different drain and source contact dimensions. Finally, optimized device geometries like the channel length of the transistor and dimension of the drain and source contacts were derived for the microcrystalline transistors based on the electrical model.     

Improvement of electrical properties of silicon-based thin-film transistors by modifying technological fabrication processes

This paper is a review of technological process evolution associated to electrical performance improvement of silicon-based thin-film transistors (TFTs) that were performed mainly in the GM/IETR laboratory. The main objective in agreement with the fields of applications is to fabricate TFTs at a temperature low enough to be compatible with the substrates, glass substrates in a first place and flexible substrates in a second one, which implies several approaches. In fact, the electrical properties of the TFTs, mainly field-effect mobility of carriers in the channel, I _on/I _off drain current ratio, and subthreshold slope, are strongly dependent on the quality and the nature of the channel material, on the material quality and thus on the density of states at the interface with the gate insulator, and on the quality of the gate insulator itself. All the improvements are directly linked to all these aspects, which means an actual combination of the efforts. For the glass substrate, compatible technology processes such as deposition techniques, or solid phase, or laser crystallizations of active layers were studied and compared. The paper details all these approaches and electrical performances. In addition, some results about the use of a silicon–germanium compound as channel active layer and airgap transistors for which the insulator is released, complete the presentation of the evolution of the silicon-based TFTs during the last twenty years.     

Highly-efficient solution-processed phosphorescent multi-layer organic light-emitting diodes investigated by electromodulation spectroscopy

We report on electromodulation (EM) spectroscopy studies of phosphorescent multi-layer organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) that are processed from solution. Compared to conventional single-layer OLEDs, they comprise an additional layer of a crosslinkable, oxetane-functionalized triphenylamine-dimer (XTPD) that is inserted between the PEDOT:PSS anode and the emissive layer. Devices with optimized stack architecture feature reduced operating voltages and reach a current efficiency approaching 40 cd/A—twice as much as the corresponding single-layer device. Using EM measurements, we quantify the electric field in the XTPD layer and the emissive layer of such a multi-layer OLED and also measure the average electric field in a single-layer reference device. By comparing the dependence of the internal field on the applied voltage for devices with and without the XTPD layer, we find that in the device containing the XTPD layer there is an increased accumulation of electrons at the anode side of the emissive layer. This accumulation enhances the recombination probability and supports the injection of holes into the emissive layer which explains the observed efficiency improvement and reduction in operating voltage compared to conventional single-layer OLEDs.     

Dynamical origin of power spectra

We discuss a possible origin of Tsallis’ statistics from the correlation among constituents which reduces the phase space of the system. We also show that a system of coupled linear harmonic oscillators can exhibit a Tsallis-type behavior. This paper is part of the Topical Issue Statistical Power Law Tails in High-Energy Phenomena.     

Mobility–diffusivity relationship for heavily doped organic semiconductors

The relationship between the diffusivity D _n and the mobility μ _n of chemically doped organic n-type semiconductors exhibiting a disordered band structure is presented. These semiconductors have a Gaussian-type density of states. So, calculations have been performed to elucidate the dependence of D _n /μ _n on the various parameters of this Gaussian density of states. Y. Roichman and N. Tessler (Appl. Phys. Lett. 80:1948, 2002), and subsequently Peng et al. (Appl. Phys. A 86:225, 2007), conducted numerical simulations to study this diffusivity–mobility relationship in organic semiconductors. However, almost all other previous studies of the diffusivity–mobility relationship for inorganic semiconductors are based on Fermi–Dirac integrals. An analytical formulation has therefore been developed for the diffusivity/mobility relationship for organic semiconductors based on Fermi–Dirac integrals. The D _n /μ _n relationship is general enough to be applicable to both non-degenerate and degenerate organic semiconductors. It may be an important tool to study electrical transport in these semiconductors.     

Structural and electrical properties of iron molybdenum phosphate glasses

Summary  Iron molybdenum phosphate glasses [xMoO₃ · (0.6 -x)P₂O₅ · 0.4Li₂O] :yFe₂O₃ with 0 ≤x ≤ 0.6 andy = 0.03 (mol%) prepared in ambient atmosphere using the melt quenching technique were studied by using DC electrical conductivity,⁵⁷Fe M?ssbauer and infrared spectroscopies. The DC conductivity depends on the MoO₃ concentrationx. It was observed that, with increasingx, the ratio Fe²⁺ /(Fe³⁺ + Fe²⁺) and the DC conductivity increase. Infrared spectroscopy and X-ray powder diffraction indicate that a Li₂ MoO₄ crystalline phase is present for high MoO₃ content samples (x = 0.5, 0.6). This work was partly sponsored by FINEP, CNPq (Brazilian agencies) and UECE (Universidade Estadual do Cearà).     

Quantum dynamical study of the amplitude collapse and revival of coherent <Emphasis Type="Italic">A</Emphasis><Subscript>1g</Subscript> phonons in bismuth: a classical phenomenon?

We parameterize the potential energy surface of bismuth after intense laser excitation using accurate full-potential linearized augmented plane wave calculations. Anharmonic contributions up to the fifth power in the A _1g phonon coordinate are given as a function of the absorbed laser energy. Using a previously described model including effects of electron–phonon coupling and carrier diffusion due to Johnson et al., we obtain the time-dependent potential energy surface for any given laser pulse shape and duration. On the basis of this parameterization we perform quantum dynamical simulations to study the experimentally observed amplitude collapse and revival of coherent A _1g phonons in bismuth considering work of Misochko et al. Our results strongly indicate that the observed beatings are not related to quantum effects and are most probably of classical origin.