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The delafossite semiconductor CuInO 2 has shown great potential in transparent electronics for its bipolar dopability. However, little is known about the limiting factors about its carrier mobility, which impedes its further development. Applying a b i n i t i o Boltzmann transport formalism, here we calculate the intrinsic, phonon-limited carrier mobility of CuInO 2 and study its carrier–phonon coupling mechanisms. The calculated room-temperature electron and hole mobilities along the in-plane direction are μ e = 97.6 cm 2 V − 1 s − 1 and μ h = 1.4 cm 2 V − 1 s − 1 , respectively. We find that the electron mobility is limited by the combination of acoustic phonons and polar longitudinal optical (LO) phonons, while the hole mobility is mainly limited by carrier–acoustic phonon scattering. We further show that the electron effective mass and bandgap of CuInO 2 can be tuned through strain engineering for improved carrier transport properties. Our work uncovers the underlying factors that govern the intrinsic carrier mobility of the transparent bipolar semiconductor CuInO 2 and sheds light on the design and exploration of bipolar conducting transparent conductive oxides (TCOs) based on delafossite semiconductors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using Bayesian spectroscopy, we performed spectral decomposition of gate modulation (GM) spectra measured in a pentacene organic field-effect transistor to understand comprehensively the optical nonlinear response due to GM and hole injection. Although GM spectra contain a variety of spectral components, by Bayesian spectroscopy, we can specify the role of each component in the nonlinear response by performing model selection that chooses the spectral components needed to explain the data without preconceptions. For a GM spectrum under positive GM, Bayesian spectroscopy shows that nonlinear responses by the change in polarizability dominate the GM spectrum among several types of Stark signals induced by the GM electric field, which is a physically valid conclusion. For GM spectra under negative GM where gate-induced carriers are injected, Bayesian spectroscopy succeeds in completely elucidating the spectral structure, which is composed of the two types of Stark signals due to changes in the polarizability and the dipole moment, bleaching, and gate-induced absorption signals. A pentacene film is known to have solid and isolated molecular phases, which may give different spectral responses. Therefore, we compared a model that treats these responses equally and a model that distinguishes them. Bayesian spectroscopy selects the latter models for all GM spectra, revealing statistically that nonlinear optical effects and hole injection effects are different in these phases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Demonstration of acoustically improving charge transport characteristics of regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene) (rrP3HT) based organic field effect transistor (OFET) fabricated on YZ lithium niobate piezoelectric substrate has been presented and analyzed. Owing to the acoustoelectric (AE) effect, a surface acoustic wave (SAW) propagating through the substrate transfers its momentum and energy to the charges in the rrP3HT channel, reducing the effective energy gap between the charge hopping states, which leads to a decrease in charge trapping and an increase in path conductivity and number of paths for charge transport. Hence, a significant increase in drain current and mobility and a substantial reduction in gate voltage were observed in the presence of SAW. The AE effect has been especially predominant in devices with smaller channel width, depicting that gate voltage brought down by 30 V provided drain current equivalent to that obtained in the absence of SAW. The bias stress analysis of the devices showed an increase in current instead of the decrease, generally seen with respect to time, reinforcing that the long term charge trapping effect in OFETs can be compensated with the propagation of SAW leading to enhanced device stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epitaxial graphene (EG) on cubic silicon carbide (3C-SiC) on silicon holds the promise of tunable nanoelectronic and nanophotonic devices, some uniquely unlocked by the graphene/cubic silicon carbide combination, directly integrated with the current well-established silicon technologies. Yet, the development of graphene field-effect devices based on the 3C-SiC/Si substrate system has been historically hindered by poor graphene quality and coverage, as well as substantial leakage issues of the heteroepitaxial system. We address these issues by growing EG on 3C-SiC on highly resistive silicon substrates using an alloy-mediated approach. In this work, we demonstrate a field-effect transistor based on EG/3C-SiC/Si with gate leakage current 6 orders of magnitude lower than the drain current at room temperature, which is a vast improvement on the current literature, opening the possibility for dynamically tunable nanoelectronic and nanophotonic devices on silicon at the wafer level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to their functional and processing versatility, organic semiconductors have gained much interest in recent years. Tailoring the charge transport in a polymeric semiconductor system is imperative for developing optimized devices. Factors such as selection of solvent species and annealing temperature play a significant role in deciding the morphology of the polymer semiconductor and hence the device performance. Bottom-gate bottom-contact organic field-effect transistors were fabricated with regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) as the active material. The effects of using chlorobenzene and o-dichlorobenzene as the solvents for P3HT and annealing temperatures on the device performance were evaluated. The devices made using chlorobenzene showed greater field-effect mobility compared to those fabricated with o-dichlorobenzene. This behavior can be attributed to the disentanglement of polymer chains in a solvent with better matching solubility parameters and subsequent ease of arranging in ordered structures during processing. Furthermore, annealing the o-dichlorobenzene devices at temperatures closer to the crystallization temperature of P3HT showed an increase in field-effect mobility. At temperatures closer to the crystallization temperature, a polymer film in a semidry state can allow increased ordering of the chains leading to enhanced charge transportation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a compact computational method based on the capacitance model for the efficient design of graphene-based synaptic field effect transistors (FETs), in which the hysteresis of conduction characteristics due to the channel–gate interface trap is used as synaptic plasticity. Using our method to calculate the conduction properties of graphene and armchair graphene nanoribbon (AGNR) superlattice FETs, it is shown that the AGNR can achieve an efficient conductance change rate Δ w , which is approximately 7.4 times that of graphene. It was also found that Δ w was the greatest when the gate oxide thickness was around 2–3 nm, which is near the limit of miniaturization. These results suggest that the proposed synaptic FETs are a promising approach to realize large scale integration chips for biological timescale computation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of organic thin-film transistors (TFTs) for high-frequency applications requires a detailed understanding of the intrinsic and extrinsic factors that influence their dynamic performance. This includes a wide range of properties, such as the device architecture, the contact resistance, parasitic capacitances, and intentional or unintentional asymmetries of the gate-to-contact overlaps. Here, we present a comprehensive analysis of the dynamic characteristics of the highest-performing flexible organic TFTs reported to date. For this purpose, we have developed the first compact model that provides a complete and accurate closed-form description of the frequency-dependent small-signal gain of organic field-effect transistors. The model properly accounts for all relevant secondary effects, such as the contact resistance, fringe capacitances, the subthreshold regime, charge traps, and non-quasistatic effects. We have analyzed the frequency behavior of low-voltage organic transistors fabricated in both coplanar and staggered device architectures on flexible plastic substrates. We show through S-parameter measurements that coplanar transistors yield more ideal small-signal characteristics with only a weak dependence on the overlap asymmetry. In contrast, the high-frequency behavior of staggered transistors suffers from a more pronounced dependence on the asymmetry. Using our advanced compact model, we elucidate the factors influencing the frequency-dependent small-signal gain and find that even though coplanar transistors have larger capacitances than staggered transistors, they benefit from substantially larger transconductances, which is the main reason for their superior dynamic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the electrical transport characteristics of graphene channel field-effect transistors (FETs) gated via ionic solid (IS), where the conventional gate insulator, such as SiO 2 , has been replaced by solid electrolytes, such as LiP 3 O 4. In this study, we focus on (i) the gate controllability of the current in comparison to conventional graphene FETs with SiO 2 as an insulating material and (ii) the transient characteristics of the drain current and time required to switch on the current. We employ the tight-binding formalism and Boltzmann equation to calculate the electronic band structure and the electronic transport in graphene, while the Nernst–Planck–Poisson equations have been employed to calculate the time-dependent charge distribution in solid electrolytes and the resulting electric double layer formation at the graphene/IS and IS/gate interfaces. Our simulations have shown that graphene FET gated via IS shows superior gate controllability more than SiO 2 -gated graphene FET with the insulator thickness of 1 nm, and the saturated drain current is insensitive to the IS thickness. Moreover, the time required to switch on the drain current is proportional to the thickness of IS, and the limited number of Li + ion vacancies in IS is preferable in obtaining faster switching than the case of unlimited vacancy cases while keeping the superior gate controllability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The high capacitance from an electrolyte dielectric layer used in a thin film transistor architecture results in the development of electrolyte-gated organic field effect transistors (EGOFETs), which are able to operate at lower voltages compared with the commonly organic field effect transistors. When ions diffuse into the semiconductor, changing its conductive properties, the resulting devices are named organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs). In this case, an increase in channel conductivity occurs due to ionic doping. Depending on the gate voltage range operation, it is possible to obtain a de-doping process, suitable for achieving a low off-current. In this work, a simple and easy method is proposed based on an additional dielectric layer deposition of poly(methyl methacrylate) at the electrolyte dielectric/semiconductor interface, which provides: (i) good efficiency to block the diffusion of anions into the channel, resulting in an EGOFET for a gate voltage range up to − 0.6 V and (ii) an improvement in the on–off ratio in approximately three orders of magnitude for OECTs due to the low off-current obtained without promoting ionic de-doping in the channel, for a gate voltage range up to − 1.1 V. Both modes of operation were obtained in the same transistor structure. In addition, parameters such as field effect mobility, on–off ratio, and threshold voltage were also estimated for different transistor structures and gate voltage ranges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zinc is often regarded as an alternative to magnesium p-type dopants in gallium nitride. However, besides many theoretical predictions, at present, there are poor data on experimentally revealed p-type conductivity and evaluation of Zn activation energy by means of electrical transport measurements. In this paper, ammonothermal crystallization of bulk GaN:Zn monocrystals is reported. Despite a high doping level of Zn (up to 2 × 1020 cm−3), p-type conductivity with hole concentration as low as of 4 × 1015 cm−3 at room temperature and mobility about 3 cm2/V s was observed. A deep nature of the Zn acceptor was proved, as the ionization energy can exceed 260 meV. In addition, conduction in the impurity band appeared at temperatures as high as room temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transistor-based artificial synapses are expected to tackle the inherent limitations of traditional von Neumann architecture for neuromorphic computing paradigm. Organic electronic materials are promising components of future neuromorphic systems, but mimicking the functions of biological synapses for symmetric weight update and desired variation margin still remains challenging. Here, we propose a synaptic transistor based on pentacene/poly(α-methylstyrene) (PαMS) architecture capable of exhibiting the main behavior of a biological spiking synapse. The ambipolar charge trapping of the transistor enables symmetric variation of the channel conductivity with desirable margin. Comprehensive synaptic functions, including the postsynaptic current with different pulse amplitudes, short-term to long-term plasticity transition, reversible channel conductance potentiation and depression, and repetitive and symmetrical learning processes, are emulated. The realization of essential synaptic functions based on the cumulative charge trapping of pentacene/PαMS structure provides a feasible device structure toward the future demand of neuromorphic computing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improved charge carrier mobility of polymer semiconductors is often a critical factor in achieving superior performance for organic electronic devices. A novel low-temperature electric-field (LTEF) treatment on poly({4,8-bis[(2-ethylhexyl)oxy]benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene-2,6-diyl}{3-fluoro-2-[(2-ethylhexyl)carbonyl]thieno[3,4-b]thiophenediyl}) (PTB7) films, which helps in increasing hole mobility in these films, is presented herein. The zero-field hole mobility at room temperature of the polymer film in a "hole-only" device configuration is found to increase by more than seven times from 1.1 × 10−4 to 7.8 × 10−4 cm2 V−1 s−1 following the application of an electric field strength of 2 × 105 V cm−1 across the films at low temperature (80 K). On the other hand, a room temperature electric field treatment of the devices does not appear to have any effect on the hole mobility in the PTB7 films. LTEF treatment is shown to help decrease the average barrier energy for charge carriers between adjacent molecular energy levels in the films from 302 to 266 meV, energy disorder from 53.2 to 49.3 meV, and position disorder from 2.1 to 1.7 in PTB7 films. The hole mobility improvement is attributed to the field induced enhanced order in those films by dipolar alignment, which is facilitated by higher polarization at low temperatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electrical transport in graphene interfaced with different ions in solution gated graphene field effect transistors (GFETs) is the subject of active studies due to its importance in sensor fabrication. Most of the developed GFET biological sensors use graphene that has been modified. The difficulty in the modification procedure and the reduction in quality of graphene that it causes are important drawbacks for applications. Therefore, we focus on GFETs based on unmodified graphene gated by aqueous solutions containing lysine amino acids. We observed that an increase in the ionic concentration of lysine in these solutions leads to a suppression of unipolar electron conductance of graphene in GFETs. This dependence is opposite to the dependence typically observed in gating solutions containing smaller atomic ions. We attribute the observed suppression to electric field screening of the graphene surface from water molecules by lysine ions which are larger and have lower charge density compared to atomic ions. This novel phenomenon leads to an overall decrease of surface charge density in molecular layers formed at the graphene interface and can be applied in GFET sensors with unmodified graphene that detect the presence and concentration of large molecules in the gating solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Field-effect transistor (FET)-based sensors allow rapid, label-free electrical detection of chemical and biological species and are easy to use. Dual-gate FET-based biosensors enable sensitive detection with high intensity signal by their distinctive structure based on a combination of solid and liquid gates. However, the underlying mechanism of signal amplification to explain the experimental results has not been well explained with theoretical analysis. In this work, a theoretical approach based on device physics is used to interpret the signal enhancement in dual-gate FET-based biosensors. The analysis is verified with a simulation method for pH sensors based on a well-established commercialized semiconductor 3D technology computer-aided design simulation. The pH sensing parameters are comprehensively investigated as a function of the electrical characteristics of dual-gate FETs: the voltage, current, and normalized current signals are directly correlated with capacitive coupling, transconductance, and subthreshold swing, respectively. Our theoretical analysis provides design guidelines for sensitive dual-gate FET-based biosensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report transport measurements of ionic liquid-gated field-effect transistors with multilayer MoS2 channels. Ambipolar characteristics with high ON/OFF ratios (>105) are observed. The current–voltage characteristics agree well with those calculated using a simple model assuming a high recombination probability and negligible contact resistance, except when holes are doped in the vicinity of the source contact. Electron and hole mobilities are estimated using the current–voltage characteristics in both the unipolar and ambipolar modes, wherein a p–n junction is formed in the latter. The electron mobility depends significantly on the carrier distribution in a channel that is controlled by the gate voltage. This result is attributed to the significant field dependence of the electron mobility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CdxZn1−xTeySe1−y (CZTS) has emerged as a next-generation compound semiconductor for high energy gamma-ray detection. In the present study, we report for the first time the hole transport property measurements in CZTS based gamma-ray detectors in the planar configuration. Current–voltage measurements revealed a bulk resistivity of ∼5 × 108 Ω cm and the fabricated detectors produced well-resolved 5486 keV alpha particle peaks, for both electrons and holes drifting alike, when pulse-height spectra (PHS) were recorded using a 241Am radiation source. The PHS measurements were enabled to measure the charge transport properties for both the charge carriers. The mobility–lifetime product (μτ) for electrons and holes was calculated to be 6.4 × 10−4 cm2 V−1 and 8.5 × 10−5 cm2 V−1, respectively, using a single polarity Hecht plot regression method. The pre-amplifier pulses were also recorded and processed digitally to obtain electron and hole drift mobilities of 692 cm2 V−1 s−1 and 55 cm2 V−1 s−1, respectively, using a time-of-flight method. The measured transport properties indicated the hole lifetime to be greater than the electron lifetime by a factor of ∼1.5. Gamma-ray PHS were recorded using fabricated detectors that showed tailing of the 662 keV photopeak due to hole trapping effects. Depth dependent PHS were digitally generated from 2D biparametric plots to reveal the effects of hole trapping on the gamma PHS at different detector depths. Digital correction procedures were applied to generate well-resolved PHS with an energy resolution of ∼2% for 662 keV γ-rays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AlScN/GaN heterostructures are worth investigating due to the remarkable high gradients in spontaneous polarization at their interfaces, which brings them into play for a wide field of potential high-power and high-frequency electronic applications. In this work, AlScN/GaN heterostructures for high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) structures were grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. We have investigated the impact of growth parameters on thick AlScN layers and on thin AlScN/GaN heterostructures. Growth parameters, such as temperature, V/III ratio, pressure, and growth mode, were varied with the focus on surface morphology, crystal quality, and incorporation of impurities. High growth temperatures improve the surface quality and reduce impurities incorporation notably. In addition to that, a slight decrease in carbon concentration is obtained by adopting a pulsed supply of metalorganic precursors. V/III ratio and pressure did not influence the layer quality observably. Heterostructures with root mean square surface roughness values as low as 0.38 nm, revealing smooth growth steps, were achieved. The presence of two-dimensional electron gases with sheet carrier densities and mobilities of up to 2 × 1013 cm−2 and close to 900 cm2/(V s), respectively, resulted in channel sheet resistances as low as 337 Ω/sq, very suitable for AlScN/GaN HEMTs. Heterostructures with sheet resistances below 200 Ω/sq and sheet carrier densities of 5 × 1013 cm−2 were also achieved but showed significantly lower mobility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is shown that the dynamic response of a thin-film transistor (TFT) comprises a polymer or organic semiconductor and can be directly correlated with charge transport parameters. Charge transport is assumed to take place in accordance with the often employed multiple trap and release model. We can simulate the non-quasistatic response of TFTs for devices in which the mobility is not constant, but depends on carrier density and other parameters. The previous model of Burns has been significantly improved and made applicable to organic and polymer transistors. Our approach works for an arbitrary density of states including both a relatively shallow exponential distribution of tail states and deeper Gaussian trap states. We set the gate voltage, VG, in our TFTs to be zero. The source voltage, VS, is varied and, thus, the value of gate-to-source voltage is varied. The predictive power of the model that is presented in this paper will be very useful for accurate device modeling and for charge transport studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the channel length dependence of the electrical characteristics of chemical vapor transport (CVT)-grown MoS 2 nanoribbon (NR) Schottky barrier field-effect transistors to provide insights into the transport properties of such nanostructures. The MoS 2 NRs form spontaneously during the CVT growth, without the application of etching. Back gated transmission line measurement FETs were fabricated on a 45 μ m -long NR with channel lengths ranging between 200 nm and 3 μ m. Contact and sheet resistances were extracted from the electrical measurements and their back-gate bias dependence was analyzed. Numerical modeling based on a virtual probe approach combined with the Landauer formalism shows excellent agreement with the measurements. The model enables a quantitative extraction of the intrinsic FET properties, e.g., mean-free-path and electron mobility, and their dependence on carrier density and investigation of plausible trap distributions. A record electron mobility for a MoS 2 NR channel of ∼ 81 cm 2 / V s was achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wearable electronic and optoelectronic devices accommodable to various mechanical deformations are becoming increasingly ubiquitous in various realms spanning electronic skins, electronic eyes, intelligent wristbands, lenses, smartphones/watches/glass, robotics, foldable screens, autonomous artificial intelligence systems, etc., which, however, are beyond the scope of conventional bulky semiconductors. Fortunately, 2D group 6 transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) emerge as alternatives, having advantages of strong mechanical strength, high conformability, semitransparency, high biocompatibility, large surface-to-volume ratio, and favorable bandgaps. Highlighting an indispensable physical foundation for reliable wearability, this perspective begins with an elaboration on the structural and mechanical attributes of 2D TMDCs. Then, the latest research advancements of wearable electronic and optoelectronic devices built on them, including field-effect transistors, gas/ion/bio/tactile sensors, photodetectors, and proof-of-concept novel applications, such as electronic noses, flexible displays, and the underlying working mechanisms, are compactly surveyed. This leads us to come up with the predominant challenges standing in the way of further development, and strategies addressing them, along with associated physical principles that are comprehensively outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of high-performance p-type oxides with high hole mobility and a wide bandgap is critical for the applications of metal oxide semiconductors in vertically integrated CMOS devices [Salahuddin et al., Nat. Electron. 1, 442 (2018)]. Sn2+-based oxides such as SnO and K2Sn2O3 have recently been proposed as high-mobility p-type oxides due to their relatively low effective hole masses, which result from delocalized Sn s-orbital character at the valence band edge. Here, we introduce a promising ternary Sn-O-X compound, Ta2SnO6, which exhibits strong valence band dispersion and a large bandgap. In order to evaluate the performance of this oxide as a p-type semiconductor, we perform first-principles calculations of the phonon-limited room-temperature carrier mobilities in SnO, SnO2, and Ta2SnO6. Electron relaxation time is evaluated, accounting for the scatterings from acoustic deformation potentials and polar optical phonons (POP), within the isotropic and dispersionless approximation. At room temperature, the electron/hole mobilities in a given material (SnO, SnO2, and Ta2SnO6) are found to be limited by POP scattering. SnO2 shows high room-temperature electron mobility of 192 cm2/(V s), while SnO and Ta2SnO6 exhibit impressive hole mobilities, with the upper limit at 60 and 33 cm2/(V s), respectively. We find that carrier effective mass largely accounts for the differences in mobility between these oxides with correspondingly different POP scattering rates. The theoretically predicted intrinsic mobilities of each material will provide the upper limit to the real mobilities for their device applications. Our findings also suggest a necessity of further investigation to identify even higher mobility p-type oxides with smaller hole effective masses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Luminescence quenching in the presence of polarons is one of the major challenges in organic light emitting devices. In this work, exciton quenching in the presence of polarons is studied using phase sensitive photocurrent measurements on pentacene field effect transistors. The enhancement of conduction in the organic field effect transistors on light illumination is studied using photocurrent spectral response measurements and corresponding optical simulations. The photocurrent is shown to be governed by the polaron mobility and the exciton quenching efficiency, both of which depend on the polaron density in the channel. Two models are proposed on the exciton dynamics in the presence of gate induced polarons in the transistor channel. The first model simulates the steady-state exciton concentration profile in the presence of exciton-polaron interaction. The second one is a three-dimensional steady state exciton-polaron interaction model, which supports the findings from the first model. It is shown that the excitons quench by transferring its energy to polarons, thereby promoting the latter to high energy states in the density of states manifold. The polarons move in the higher energy states with greater microscopic mobility before thermalizing, thereby leading to an enhancement of conduction. It is observed that for the present system, where charge carrier transport is by hopping, all polarons interact with excitons. This implies that for low mobility systems, the interaction is not limited to deep trapped polarons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tin iodide-based hybrid perovskite (C6H5C2H4NH3)2SnI4 [(PEA)2SnI4] is promising as the semiconductor in field-effect transistors (FETs) because of its easy film processability and high carrier mobility. However, the stability of (PEA)2SnI4 FETs in air remains a significant issue. In this study, we show that the source of this degradation is oxygen. We observed that the structure of (PEA)2SnI4 degraded in the presence of oxygen, along with the formation of gaps between grains. With the aim of suppressing the oxygen-induced degradation, we optimized (PEA)2SnI4 spin-coating conditions to increase the grain size and simply encapsulated a (PEA)2SnI4 semiconductor with the fluorine-based polymer CYTOP. Adopting these methods led to the greatly improved stability of FET performance in air. We propose that oxygen had reduced penetration into (PEA)2SnI4 films with larger grains. The drain current of optimized FETs remained almost unchanged over 5 h of operation, which is in contrast to the control device that decayed within 1 h. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experimental characteristics of bottom-gate-contact organic thin film field-effect transistors (OTFTs) with 70 nm thick films of solution processed non-peripherally octahexyl-substituted copper tetrabenzotriazaporphyrin (6CuTBTAP) novel asymmetric molecules as active layers on silicon substrates are analyzed by both linear and non-linear parameter extraction methods in order to examine the field-dependent mobility and contact effects. Both linear and saturation field effect mobilities of OTFTs have been computationally determined as a function of gate voltage in the presence of the contact resistances. The Poole-Frankel mechanism is found to be responsible for charge transport during the saturation regime, giving the highest mobility of 6.9 × 10−2 cm2 V−1 s−1 at the gate-source voltage (VG) of 50 V. The on-off ratio is found to be 106. The contact resistance at the interface between gold electrodes and the 6CuTBTAP active layer decreases with VG sharply from 75 MΩ corresponding to VG = 0 V to 10 MΩ once the transistor is turned on at the threshold voltage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemical versatility and compatibility with a vast array of processing techniques has led to the incorporation of organic semiconductors in various electronic and opto-electronic devices. One such device is the organic field-effect transistor (OFET). In this tutorial, we describe the structure, operation, and characterization of OFETs. Following a short historical perspective, we introduce the architectures possible for OFETs and then describe the device physics and the methods for extracting relevant device parameters. We then provide a brief overview of the myriad organic semiconductors and deposition methods that were adopted for OFETs in the past decades. Non-ideal device characteristics, including contact resistance, are then discussed along with their effects on electrical performance and on the accuracy of extracting device parameters. Finally, we highlight several measurements involving OFETs that allow access to fundamental properties of organic semiconductors and the mechanism of charge transport in these materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of trap states in the band gap of organic semiconductors directly influences the charge transport as well as the threshold and turn-on voltage. Direct charge transport measurements have been used until now to probe the trap states rather close to the transport level, whereas their number in the middle of the band gap has been elusive. In this study, we use PDIF-CN2, a well known n-type semiconductor, together with vanadium pentoxide electrodes to build ambipolar field-effect transistors. Employing three different methods, we study the density of trap states in the band gap of the semiconductor. These methods give consistent results, and no pool of defect states was found. Additionally, we show first evidence that the number of trap states close to the transport level is correlated with the number of traps in the middle of the band-gap, meaning that a high number of trap states close to the transport level also implies a high number of trap states in the middle of the band gap. This points to a common origin of the trap states over a wide energy range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reported Vertical Organic Field Effect Transistors (VOFETs) show either superior current and switching speeds or well-behaved transistor performance, especially saturation in the output characteristics. Through the study of the relationship between the device architecture or dimensions and the device performance, we find that achieving a saturation regime in the output characteristics requires that the device operates in the injection limited regime. In current structures, the existence of the injection limited regime depends on the source's injection barrier as well as on the buried semiconductor layer thickness. To overcome the injection limit imposed by the necessity of injection barrier, we suggest a new architecture to realize VOFETs. This architecture shows better gate control and is independent of the injection barrier at the source, thus allowing for several A cm-2 for a semiconductor having a mobility value of 0.1 cm² V-1 s-1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Like most of the vertical transistors, the Patterned Source Vertical Organic Field Effect Transistor (PS-VOFET) does not exhibit saturation in the output characteristics. The importance of achieving a good saturation is demonstrated in a vertical organic light emitting transistor; however, this is critical for any application requiring the transistor to act as a current source. Thereafter, a 2D simulation tool was used to explain the physical mechanisms that prevent saturation as well as to suggest ways to overcome them. We found that by isolating the source facet from the drain-source electric field, the PS-VOFET architecture exhibits saturation. The process used for fabricating such saturation-enhancing structure is then described. The new device demonstrated close to an ideal saturation with only 1% change in the drain-source current over a 10 V change in the drain-source voltage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have developed analytical models for bias dependent contact resistance (RC) and output characteristics of staggered organic field-effect transistors (OFETS) based on a bulk resistance-approximated and mobility-modified current-crowding method. Numerical evaluations of RC and its resistive components show that the bias dependency of the bulk resistance is negligible. Consequently, the properties of the active layer interfaces determine RC and its characteristics. Effective parameters include a normally constant charge injection barrier at the organic-metal interface (Eb) and a gate induced surface carrier-concentration (PS0) at the organic-insulator boundary. The energy barrier pertains to the fabrication process, and its related resistance (rc) can be determined as the fitting parameter of the theoretical model. However, PS0 is strongly gate bias dependent and the results of the numerical model indicate that the resulting component (rch) is dominant and has a considerable effect on RC and its characteristics. More importantly, PS0 as the key parameter of the contact resistance is analytically expressible and by using a proposed mobility-modified current-crowding model, the contact resistance can be analytically formulated. Accordingly, the output characteristics of the OFETs in the triode region can be also analytically modeled using the developed relation of RC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, using a mobility modified current crowding formalism, we have modeled the gate- bias dependence of contact resistance in staggered organic field effect transistors. For this purpose, the gate modulation of the potential and carrier-concentration in the organic semiconductor layer has been investigated by solving the 1-D Poisson's equation. Due to this effect, the charge hopping mobility (l) and therefore the conductivity of this layer which are carrier-concentration dependent are also modulated. Using an analytical carrier-concentration dependent model for μ with current crowding formalism, the gate-bias dependence of the contact resistance has been exactly simulated. Based on the obtained mobility relation, bulk and channel resistive components of the current crowding model are calculated. This method has been used for simulation of experimental data, and results confirm the reliability of the presented approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diodes incorporating a bilayer of an organic semiconductor and a wide bandgap metal oxide can show unipolar, non-volatile memory behavior after electroforming. The prolonged bias voltage stress induces defects in the metal oxide with an areal density exceeding 1017m-2. We explain the electrical bistability by the coexistence of two thermodynamically stable phases at the interface between an organic semiconductor and metal oxide. One phase contains mainly ionized defects and has a low work function, while the other phase has mainly neutral defects and a high work function. In the diodes, domains of the phase with a low work function constitute current filaments. The phase composition and critical temperature are derived from a 2D Ising model as a function of chemical potential. The model predicts filamentary conduction exhibiting a negative differential resistance and nonvolatile memory behavior. The model is expected to be generally applicable to any bilayer system that shows unipolar resistive switching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge on surface potential dynamics is crucial for understanding the performance of modern-type nanoscale devices. We describe an electrical pump-probe approach in Kelvin-probe force microscopy that enables a quantitative measurement of dynamic surface potentials at nanosecond-time and nanometer-length scales. Also, we investigate the performance of pump-probe Kelvin-probe force microscopy with respect to the relevant experimental parameters. We exemplify a measurement on an organic field effect transistor that verifies the undisturbed functionality of our pump-probe approach in terms of simultaneous and quantitative mapping of topographic and electronic information at a high lateral and temporal resolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the fabrication and electrical properties of pentacene-based ferroelectric organic field-effect transistors (FeOFETs) with ultrathin poly(vinylidene fluoride trifluoroethylene) [P(VDF-TrFE)] gate insulators. A ultrathin and uniform P(VDF-TrFE) film was successfully deposited by Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) deposition with well-defined ferroelectric microdomains at the interface between P(VDF-TrFE) films and pentacene active layers. The P(VDF-TrFE) films derived by LB deposition significantly enhance the crystallization of the upper pentacene channel films and thus the performance of our FeOFETs. Our FeOFET device achieves a threshold voltage shift of 8.56V induced by ferroelectric polarization under different voltage sweeping directions and such enhancement indicates a great potential for future organic nonvolatile memory applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Charge carrier hopping transport is generally taken from Miller-Abrahams and Marcus transition rates. Based on the Miller-Abrahams theory and nearest-neighbour range hopping theory, Apsley and Hughes developed a concise calculation method (A-H method) to study the hopping conduction in disordered systems. Here, we improve the A-H method to investigate the charge carrier hopping transport by introducing polaron effect and electric field based on Marcus theory and variable-range hopping theory. This improved method can well describe the contribution of polaron effect, energetic disorder, carrier density, and electric field to the charge carrier transport in disordered organic semiconductor. In addition, the calculated results clearly show that the charge carrier mobility represents different polaron effect dependence with the polaron activation energy and decreases with increasing electric field strength for large fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ferroelectric dielectrics, permitting access to nearly an order of magnitude range of dielectric constants with temperature as the tuning parameter, offer a great platform to monitor the changes in interfacial transport in organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) as the polarization strength is tuned. Temperature-dependent transport studies have been carried out from pentacene-based OFETs using the ferroelectric copolymer poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-trifluoroethylene) (PVDFTrFE) as a gate insulating layer. The thickness of the gate dielectric was varied from 20 nm to 500 nm. By fits to an Arrhenius-type dependence of the charge carrier mobility as a function of temperature, the activation energy in the ferroelectric phase is found to increase as the thickness of the PVDF-TrFE layer decreases. The weak temperature-dependence of the charge carrier mobility in the ferroelectric phase of PVDF-TrFE may be attributed to a polarization fluctuation driven transport, which results from a coupling of the charge carriers to the surface phonons of the dielectric. By comparing single layer PVDF-TrFE pentacene OFETs with stacked PVDF-TrFE/inorganic dielectric OFETs, the contribution from Fröhlich polarons is extracted. The temperature-dependent mobility of the polarons increases with the thickness of the PVDF-TrFE layer. Using a strongly coupled polaron model, the hopping lengths were determined to vary between 2Å and 5Å . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current vs. voltage (I-V) characteristics of single crystal rubrene Organic Field-Effect Transistors (OFETs) and polycrystalline poly(p-phenylenevinylene) (PPV) films are modeled using the polaron transport theory presented in a previous work [A. F. Basile et al., J. Appl. Phys. 115, 244505 (2014)]. The model is first applied to rubrene OFETs, where transport is two-dimensional and is confined near the interface between the insulator and the organic semiconductor. By considering the effect of image charges in the insulator and by assuming a constant intrinsic mobility, we reproduce both the positive and the negative temperature dependences of the channel mobilities measured on OFETs having a gate dielectric and an air-gap insulator, respectively. In addition, we adapt this model to the three-dimensional transport in PPV films, characterized by effective mobilities which depend on temperature, charge density, and electric field. We show that the I-V characteristics of these materials can be matched by the numerical solution of the Poisson and drift-diffusion equations assuming a constant intrinsic mobility. The polaron binding energy can account for the thermally activated behavior of the I-V characteristics and for the increase of the effective mobility at high applied voltages. Therefore, this model enables to extract the intrinsic transport parameters of organic semiconductors, independent of the device structure, and of the measurement conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With progressively improving charge carrier mobility in organic semiconductors and miniaturization of organic field-effect transistors (OFETs), low contact resistances become ever more important. To study the capabilities of metal electrodes in OFETs and to explore the transition from contact-limited to channel-dominated transistor operation, we used flip-crystal FETs with gold electrodes having different contact resistances Rc to high-quality rubrene crystals. 4-terminal transfer and output measurements reveal that Rc decreases from 105-106 Ω cm for 15 min air exposure to 3×10³ Ωcm for at least 5 h air exposure of the gold electrodes before the flip-crystal FET is assembled. We conclude the reduction of Rc to be caused by a growing contamination layer on the gold electrodes that weakens the electrostatic coupling between rubrene crystal and gold electrode, and lowers the Schottky contact diode parameter V0. In channel-dominated (low Rc) FETs, the mobility is in the range of 10-17 cm²/(Vs); in contrast, in contact-limited (high Rc) FETs, the apparent mobility decreases significantly with increasing contact resistance. The apparent μ - Rc dependence is not intrinsic, but rather the result of incorrect assumptions of the potential and the charge carrier density in the channel region. Thus, the development of high-mobility organic semiconductors requires further efforts to improve contacts beyond traditional metal electrodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we have investigated experimentally the photo-response of the organic field effect transistors (OFETs) based on p-conjugated stilbene oligomers with mutual optical and electrical properties. The cis-trans photoisomerization of these oligomers in the active layer of the OFETs disturbs the intermolecular interactions. This perturbation disrupts the charge transport in the conduction channel and turns-off the transistor. We used this phenomenon to modulate the drain current of the OFETs optically. The photo-response activity of the transistors is temperature dependent, in agreement with the isomerization of the stilbenes. Photoluminescent evaluations verify the isomerization of the oligomers in the thin film. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on the electrical properties of organic field-effect transistors (OFET) based on a new class of organic semiconductors. The molecules consist of the same thieno[2,3-b][1]benzothiophene building blocks, connected by different p-bridge spacers (ethylene, phenylene, and fluorophenylene). Molecular orbitals and highest occupied molecular orbital/lowest unoccupied molecular orbital energies were calculated and compared with results from cyclic voltammetric and UV-vis absorption measurements. In order to study the influence of the πbridge groups on the molecular arrangement and surface interaction, the transistor performance on a wide range of dielectrics has been investigated in detail. These include as grown SiO2 and Al2O3 and also treated with octadecyltrichrolosilane and octadecylphosphonic acid, as well as Cytop and Parylene C. An extended study of the multitude of combinations of these materials revealed mobilities up to ~ 1cm² /Vs, measured for devices made of the phenylene-bridged compound. Surprisingly, the mobility was quite independent of the supporting gate dielectric. Stability over time has been observed with no degradation after 5 months. By eliminating the hysteresis using Cytop, we were able to show that some of the molecules form films without long-term charge carrier trapping. These are interesting features for practical industrial processing of organic electronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transport states in disordered organic semiconductors are widely accepted to be Gaussian distributed with a rather narrow variance (width) of the order of roughly 100-150 meV. This is a result of intensive analysis of experimental data and theoretical work using different model assumptions on hopping transport. For this transport mechanism, the dependencies of the carrier mobility on temperature, carrier density, and field are described by analytical approximations, which can be implemented in advanced device simulation programs. However, also the carrier density itself is determined by the Gaussian density of states (GDOS) and the energy integral over the product of the GDOS and the Fermi distribution function can only be calculated numerically. But meanwhile the published [G. Paasch and S. Scheinert, J. Appl. Phys. 107, 104501 (2010)] analytical approximation for the charge carrier density of organics with GDOS is implemented in the Sentaurus Device simulator. We present here results of detailed numerical simulations of organic field-effect transistors applying this model. It turns out that an important parameter is the distance of the GDOS maximum from the band edge, which is not directly accessible from experiment since the measured DOS shows a much larger band width (the narrow transport GDOS might be the tail). Only for a special case, depending on the variance, the deviations from a non-degenerate inorganic semiconductor are rather small. Furthermore, the results are affected by the properties of the source/drain contacts (Ohmic or Schottky type). Inclusion of both the calculation of the carrier concentration assuming the GDOS and the dependence of the mobility on this concentration shows that the influence of the latter is much larger. Nevertheless, the deviations from simulations for an inorganic semiconductor show that the carrier density for the GDOS should be taken into account in device simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we have studied the effect of surface treatment of SiO2 dielectric layer on the reduction of the trap charge carrier density at dielectric/semiconducting interface by fabricating a metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) device using α, ω-dihexylcarbonylquaterthiophene as semiconducting layer. SiO2 dielectric layer has been treated with 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS) to modify the chemical group acting as charge traps. Capacitance-voltage measurements have been performed on MIS devices fabricated on SiO2 and HMDS treated SiO2. These data have been used for the calculation of trap charge carrier density and Debye length at the dielectric-semiconductor interface. The calculated trap charge carrier density has been found to reduce from (2.925 ± 0.049) × 1016 cm-3 to (2.025 ± 0.061) × 1016 cm-3 for the MIS device with HMDS treated SiO2 dielectric in comparison to that of untreated SiO2. Next, the effect of reduction in trap charge carrier density has been studied on the performance of organic field effect transistors. The improvement in the device parameters like mobility, on/off ratio, and gate leakage current has been obtained with the effect of the surface treatment. The charge carrier mobility has been improved by a factor of 2 through this treatment. Further, the influence of the treatment was observed by atomic force microscope and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work we study the cross-linked poly(vinyl alcohol)/poly(3-hexylthiophene) interfacial properties of an organic field effect transistor. We use cross-linked poly(vinyl alcohol) prepared with different ammonium dichromate:poly(vinyl alcohol) proportions, ranging from 0% to 35%, as insulator. Using admittance spectroscopy, we show that the interfacial properties change when the ammonium dichromate concentration is altered. The interfacial properties and the better insulation are responsible for the improvement of the device performance in these organic field effect transistors, achieving best performance in the blend with ammonium dichromate:poly(vinyl alcohol) proportion of 0.25:1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Joule's law opens a straightforward way to explore the operating mechanism of organic field-effect transistors, from the angle of inner transported heating. The microscopic dissipated power is calculated from the local conductivity and electric field, which solves the widespread difficulties in building a macroscopic model to determine the contact resistance. The result quantitatively discloses the correlation between the contact resistance and the charge transport properties covering energetic disorder, band-like and hopping transport as well as carrier mobility anisotropy. It turns out that in a staggered configuration with ideal Ohmic contact, the contact resistance is highly affected by the charge transport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The time-of-flight experiment is a transient photo-current measurement commonly used to measure the mobility of organic semiconductors. The experiment has a well established procedure to extract the average transit-time of the photo-generated carriers across the sample from the current versus time signal. In this work, we compare, for a dispersive signal, the transit-time as inferred from the experimental procedure with the statistically defined average transit-time. We show that the two quantities are not only numerically different, the experimental transit-time being always smaller than the exact one, but they also have markedly different electric field and sample length dependencies. Our results are relevant for any attempt to model an experimental time-of-flight mobility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The operation of organic devices as organic field-effect transistors (OFET) depends critically on the contact between the organic layer and the material for source/drain electrodes. Small barriers for carrier injection are required for efficient operation. In order to support the understanding of organic devices, photoemission spectroscopy has been used to determine the properties of metal/organic interfaces. Values for the hole injection barrier determined in the last decade by different groups are frequently of the order of 0.5-1 eV. It is not clear whether barrier lowering due to the image charge is sufficient to make contacts with such barriers efficient for carrier injection. Indeed, no results have been reported where the preparation of the samples for the photoemission study and for the devices are the same. Here we present results of such an investigation for OFETs with gold source/drain contacts. The measured hole barrier at the gold contact of 0.6 eV results from the Au work function of 4.6 eV. Taking into account the dependencies of the mobility on the carrier concentration and on the field for the Gaussian density of states (DOS) of disordered organics, measured OFET current characteristics cannot be described well with such contacts but rather for work functions of 4.7 eV or larger. Considering the method in determining the barrier from photoemission data and the Gaussian DOS of the hopping transport states, we present a quantitative connection between the barrier as determined from photoemission and the barrier as used in the device simulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We theoretically analyze carrier transports in an organic field effect transistor that is subjected to mechanical strains. These strains change the density of carriers that are accumulated at the channel by the Maxwell-Wagner mechanism and thus modulate drain currents. These effects of strains are characterized by three parameters α, μ1, and μ2, which represent the changes of the dielectric constant of gate insulators and channel mobilities. These charge density modulations are different from piezoelectric effects, and accumulated charge density depends on both applied gate voltages and applied strains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The gradual channel approximation is widely used for organic field-effect transistors with an assumption of linear potential profile across the channel. However, this is in contradiction with reported potential profiles. Here, we discuss linear and nonlinear potential profiles in the meaning of the space-charge field generated by injected carriers. The influence on current-voltage relation used for mobility evaluation in linear and saturated regions is proposed as well as transition between these states. In addition, the effect of the space-charge on the potential drop and field around the drain electrode in the saturation region is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study of carrier transport in top-gate and bottom-contact TIPS-pentacene organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) based on mobility is presented. Among three mobilities extracted by different methods, the low-field mobility obtained by the Y function exhibits the best reliability and ease for use, whereas the widely applied field-effect mobility is not reliable, particularly in short-channel transistors and at low temperatures. A detailed study of contact transport reveals its strong impact on short-channel transistors, suggesting that a more intrinsic transport analysis is better implemented in relatively longer-channel devices. The observed temperature dependences of mobility are well explained by a transport model with Gaussian-like diffusivity band tails, different from diffusion in localized states band tails. This model explicitly interprets the non-zero constant mobility at low temperatures and clearly demonstrates the effects of disorder and hopping transport on temperature and carrier density dependences of mobility in organic transistors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Displacement current measurements (DCM) on long-channel capacitors (LCCs) were used to examine carrier injection and extraction processes in organic field-effect transistors (OFETs). An LCC can be seen as an OFET with one channel contact removed and the conducting channel elongated to millimeter range. While carrier injection and extraction processes occur simultaneously in OFETs during traditional DC measurements, these two processes can be examined separately with LCCs and DCMs. In addition, the numbers of injected, extracted, and trapped carriers can be determined by integrating the displacement current with respect to time. Pentacene LCCs with Au, Cu, and Al contacts were fabricated. Surprisingly, it was found that more carriers were trapped in the Au devices than in the Cu devices even though the pentacene film and dielectric layers were essentially identical. We propose that carrier trapping in the long channel of the Au devices is indirectly caused by the deep trap states at the pentacene-dielectric interface in the contact region generated by Au penetration. In addition, ambipolar injection and transport were observed in an LCC with an Al contact and a PMMA buffer layer between pentacene and SiO2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A modeling of organic field-effect transistors' (OFETs') electrical characteristics is presented. This model is based on a one-dimensional (1-D) Poisson's equation solution that solves the potential profile in the organic semiconducting film. Most importantly, it demonstrates that, due to the common open-surface configuration used in organic transistors, the conduction occurs in the film volume below threshold. This is because the potential at the free surface is not fixed to zero but rather rises also with the gate bias. The tail of carrier concentration at the free surface is therefore significantly modulated by the gate bias, which partially explains the gate-voltage dependent contact resistance. At the same time in the so-called subthreshold region, we observe a clear charge trapping from the difference between C-V and I-V measurements; hence a traps study by numerical simulation is also performed. By combining the analytical modeling and the traps analysis, the questions on the C-V and I-V characteristics are answered. Finally, the combined results obtained with traps fit well the experimental data in both pentacene and bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl)-pentacene OFETs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]