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With growing interest in organic phototransistors, as not only sensors but also neuromorphic computing elements, the vast majority of research investigates structures comprising Ohmic source/drain contacts. Here, it is shown how source‐gated transistors (SGTs), in which a source contact barrier dominates electrical characteristics, can be implemented as phototransistors. Organic photo‐SGTs (OPSGTs) based on vacuum‐processed small‐molecule dinaphtho[2,3‐b:2′,3′‐f]thieno[3,2‐]thiophene (DNTT) demonstrate low saturation voltage, exceptional tolerance to channel length variation, and photo‐to‐dark current ratio (PDCR) peaks over 106 for 819 µW broad spectrum incident light power. At zero gate‐source voltage, the PDCR reaches 104, showing promise for simple sensor circuit implementation in medical and wellbeing applications. [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]

Low saturation voltages and extremely high intrinsic gain can be achieved in contact‐controlled thin‐film transistors (TFTs) with staggered device architecture, enabled by the energy barrier introduced at the source contact. The resulting device, the source‐gated transistor (SGT), is limited in its usefulness by the high temperature dependence of the drain current induced by the source energy barrier. Here, the interaction between the thermal characteristics of the source contact and the semiconductor to show drastically reduced temperature dependence for SGTs based on organic semiconductors (OSGTs) is exploited. This extraordinarily weak temperature dependence of the drain current is observed regardless of the height of the source energy barrier (27.8% in OSGTs with Ti contacts compared to 22.1% when using Au contacts, over a 34 K range). The reduction in mobility of the semiconductor offsets an increase in thermionic‐field emission of charge carriers at the source. This is a first for SGTs and provides a route to removing one of the last hurdles to their wider adoption. The OSGTs with Ti contacts also demonstrate: drain‐current saturation at very low drain‐source voltages (saturation factor of 0.22); noteworthy stability after 70 days; and minimal drain‐current variation with channel length or illumination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Author(s): Hagen Klauk (corresponding author) [1]; Ute Zschieschang [1]; Jens Pflaum [2]; Marcus Halik [3] The prospect of using low-temperature processable organic semiconductors to implement transistors, circuits, displays and sensors [...]

Author(s): Marcus Halik (corresponding author) [1]; Hagen Klauk [1]; Ute Zschieschang [1]; Günter Schmid [1]; Christine Dehm [1]; Markus Schütz [2]; Steffen Maisch [2]; Franz Effenberger [2]; Markus Brunnbauer [3]; [...]

Organic thin‐film transistors (TFTs) that provide subthreshold swings near the theoretical limit together with large on/off current ratios at very low operating voltages require high‐capacitance gate dielectrics with a vanishingly small defect density. A promising approach to the fabrication of such dielectrics at temperatures sufficiently low to allow TFT fabrication on polymeric substrates are hybrid dielectrics consisting of a thin metal oxide layer in combination with a molecular self‐assembled monolayer (SAM). Here, the electrical and surface properties of titanium oxide produced by the plasma‐assisted oxidation of the surface of vacuum‐deposited titanium gate electrodes and its use as the first component of a hybrid TiOx/SAM gate dielectric in flexible organic TFTs are investigated. These transistors have a gate‐dielectric capacitance of about 1 µF cm−2, a subthreshold swing of 59 mV decade−1 (within measurement error of the physical limit at room temperature) for a wide range of channel lengths as small as 0.7 µm, and an on/off current ratio of 107 for a gate‐source‐voltage range of 1 V. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contact‐controlled transistors are rapidly gaining popularity. However, simply using a rectifying source contact often leads to unsatisfactory operation, merely as a thin‐film transistor with low drain current and reduced effective mobility. This may cause otherwise promising experiments to be abandoned. Here, data from literature is analyzed in conjunction with devices that have been recently fabricated in polysilicon, organic and oxide semiconductors, highlighting the main factor in achieving good saturation, namely keeping saturation coefficient γ well below 0.3. Secondary causes of suboptimal electrical characteristics are also discussed. Correct design of these alternative device structures will expedite their adoption for high gain, low‐frequency applications in emerging sensor circuits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]