Accurate capacitance-voltage characterization of organic thin films with current injection

To deal with the invalidation of commonly employed series model and parallel model in capacitance-voltage(C-V)characterization of organic thin films when current injection is significant,a three-element equivalent circuit model is proposed.On this basis,the expression of real capacitance in consideration of current injection is theoretically derived by small-signal analysis method.The validity of the proposed equivalent circuit and theoretical expression are verified by a simulating circuit consisting of a capacitor,a diode,and a resistor.Moreover,the accurate C-V characteristic of an organic thin film device is obtained via theoretical correction of the experimental measuring result,and the real capacitance is 35.7%higher than the directly measured capacitance at 5-V bias in the parallel mode.This work strongly demonstrates the necessity to consider current injection in C-V measurement and provides a strategy for accurate C-V characterization experimentally.

Electric dipolar interaction assisted growth of single crystalline organic thin films

We report on a forest-like-to-desert-like pattern evolution in the growth of an organic thin film observed by using an atomic force microscope. We use a modified diffusion limited aggregation model to simulate the growth process and are able to reproduce the experimental patterns. The energy of electric dipole interaction is calculated and determined to be the driving force for the pattern formation and evolution. Based on these results, single crystalline films are obtained by enhancing the electric dipole interaction while limiting effects of other growth parameters.

New method for fast morphological characterization of organic polycrystalline films by polarized optical microscopy

A new method to visualize the large-scale crystal grain morphology of organic polycrystalline films is proposed. First,optical anisotropic transmittance images of polycrystalline zinc phthalocyanine（Zn Pc） films vacuum deposited by weak epitaxial growth（WEG） method were acquired with polarized optical microscopy（POM）. Then morphology properties including crystal grain size, distribution, relative orientation, and crystallinity were derived from these images by fitting with a transition dipole model. At last, atomic force microscopy（AFM） imaging was carried out to confirm the fitting and serve as absolute references. This method can be readily generalized to other organic polycrystalline films, thus providing an efficient way to access the large-scale morphologic properties of organic polycrystalline films, which may prove to be useful in industry as a film quality monitoring method.

Growth of a-Plane GaN Films on r-Plane Sapphire by Combining Metal Organic Vapor Phase Epitaxy with the Hydride Vapor Phase Epitaxy

Hydride vapor phase epitaxy （HVPE） is utilized to grow nonpolar a-plane GaN layers on r-plane sapphire templates prepared by metal organic vapor phase epitaxy （MOVPE）. The surface morphology and microstructures of the samples are characterized by atomic force microscopy. The full width at half maximum （FWHM） of the HVPE sample shows a W-shape and that of the MOVPE sample shows an M-shape plane with the degree of 0 in the high-resolution x-ray diffraction （HRXRD） results. The surface morphology attributes to this significant anisotropic. HRXRD reveals that there is a significant reduction in the FWHM, both on-axis and off-axis for HVPE GaN are compared with the MOVPE template. The decrease of the FWHM of E2 （high） Raman scat tering spectra further indicates the improvement of crystal quality after HVPE. By comparing the results of secondary- ion-mass spectroscope and photoluminescence spectrum of the samples grown by HVPE and MOVPE, we propose that C-involved defects are originally responsible for the yellow luminescence.

Tandem organic light-emitting diode with a molybdenum tri-oxide thin film interconnector layer

A 10-nm-thick molybdenum tri-oxide（MoO3） thin film was used as the interconnector layer in tandem organic lightemitting devices（OLEDs）.The tandem OLEDs with two identical emissive units consisting of N,N-bis（naphthalen-1-yl）N,N-bis（phenyl）-benzidine（NPB） /tris（8-hydroxyquinoline） aluminum（Alq3） exhibited current efficiency-current density characteristics superior to the conventional single-unit devices.At 20 mA/cm2,the current efficiency of the tandem OLEDs using the interconnector layers of MoO3 thin film was about 4.0 cd/A,which is about twice that of the corresponding conventional single-unit device（1.8cd/A）.The tandem OLED showed a higher power efficiency than the conventional single-unit device for luminance over 1200cd/m2.The experimental results demonstrated that a MoO3 thin film with a proper thickness can be used as an effective interconnector layer in tandem OLEDs.Such an interconnector layer can be easily fabricated by simple thermal evaporation,greatly simplifying the device processing and fabrication processes required by previously reported interconnector layers.A possible explanation was proposed for the carrier generation of the MoO3 interconnector layer.

Performance improvement in pentacene organic thin film transistors by inserting a C_(60) 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.

Organic Thin Film Electroluminescent Passive Matrix Display

Long life green emitting matrix display based on organic light emitting diode is reported. The pixel number is 96×60, equivalent pixel size 0.4×0.4 mm 2, and the pixel gap 0.1 mm. An image with no crosstalk between pixels is obtained. The average luminance of these pixels at duty cycle of 1/64 is 100 cd/m 2, and the power consumption is 0.6 W. The dark room contrast of 1∶100 is achieved without using a polarization filter.

Contact-Size-Dependent Cutoff Frequency of Bottom-Contact Organic Thin Film Transistors

The contact-size-dependent characteristic of cutoff frequency fT in bottom-contact organic thin film transistors （OTFTs） is studied. The effects of electrode thickness, field-effect mobility, channel length and gate-source voltage on the contact length （source and drain electrodes＇ length） related contact resistance of bottom-contact OTFTs are performed with a modified transmission line model. It is found that the contact resistance increases dramatically when the contact length is scaled down to 20O nm. With the help of the contact length related contact resistance, contact-size-dependent fT Of bottom-contact OTFTs is studied and it is found that fr increases with the decrease of the contact length in bottom-contact OTFTs.

Organic Electroluminescence Using TPD as the Emitting Layer

Organic electroluminescent thin film using TPD as an emitting layer with structure of Glass/ITO/TPD/Al is fabricated. Its V-I curve, V-B curve and electroluminescent spectra are measured and analysed.The blue emission with luminance of 0.74 cd/m 2 and luminous efficiency of 1.35×10 -3 lm/W is achieved at DC voltage of 24 V.

Temperature Dependence of Electrical Properties of Organic Thin Film Transistors Based on pn Heterojuction and Their Applications in Temperature Sensors

Organic thin film transistors based on an F16CuPc/α6T pn heterojunction have been fabricated and analyzed to investigate the temperature dependence of electrical properties and apply in temperature sensors. The mobility follows a thermally activated hopping process. At temperatures over 200 K, the value of thermal activation energy (EA) is 40. 1 meV, similar to that of the single-layer device. At temperatures ranging from 100 to 200 K, we have a second regime with a much lower EA of 16.3 meV, where the charge transport is dominated by shallow traps. Similarly, at temperatures above 200 K, threshold voltage (VT) increases linearly with decreasing temperature, and the variations of VT of 0.185 V/K is larger than the variation of VT (~0.020 V/K) in the single layer devices. This result is due to the interface dipolar charges. At temperatures ranging from 100 K to 200 K, we have a second regime with much lower variations of 0.090 V/K. By studying gate voltage (VG)-dependence temperature variation factor (k), the maximum value of k (~0.11 dec/K) could be obtained at VG = 5 V. Furthermore, the pn heterojunction device could be characterized as a temperature sensor well working at low operating voltages.

Lowering the driving voltage and improving the luminance of blue fluorescent organic light-emitting devices by thermal annealing a hole injection layer of pentacene

We chose pentacene as a hole injection layer（HIL） to fabricate the high performance blue fluorescent organic lightemitting devices（OLEDs）. We found that the carrier mobility of the pentacene thin films could be efficiently improved after a critical annealing at temperature 120℃. Then we performed the tests of scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and Kelvin probe to explore the effect of annealing on the pentacene films. The pentacene film exhibited a more crystalline form with better continuities and smoothness after annealing. The optimal device with 120℃ annealed pentacene film and n-doped electron transport layer（ETL） presents a low turn-on voltage of 2.6 V and a highest luminance of 134800 cd/m^2 at 12 V, which are reduced by 26% and improved by 50% compared with those of the control device.

Enabling Solution Growth of Insoluble Organic Materials in Common Solvents

Copper phthalocyanine (CuPc) amorphous film was successfully deposited on a silicone substrate by physical vapor deposition. When the film was in contact with a common solvent such as aniline, 1-propanol and toluene, the CuPc solid film was partially dissolved followed by nucleation and crystal growth in the solution. Based on these experimental results, we propose a novel method for preparation of the organic thin film by combination of dry and wet processes.

Asymmetric side-chain engineering of organic semiconductor for ultrasensitive gas sensing

Molecular structure of organic semiconductor plays a critical role in determining the performance and functionality of organic electronic devices,by optimizing the electrical,optical and physicochemical properties.Substituted alkyl chains are fundamental units in tailering the solubility and assemblability,among which the asymmetric properties have been reported as key element for controlling the packing motifs and intrinsic charge transport.Here,we expanded the scope of molecular asymmetry dependent sensing features based on a new series of naphthalene diimides(NDI)-based derivatives substituted with a same branching alkyl chain but various linear-shaped alkyl chains(Cn-).A clear molecular stacking change,from head-to-head bilayer to head-to-tail monolayer packing model,is observed based on the features of anisotropic molecular interactions with the change in the chain length.Most importantly,a unique LUMO level shift of 0.17 eV is validated for NDI-PhC4,providing a record sensitivity up to 150%to 0.01 ppb ammonia,due to the desired molecular reactivity and device amplification properties.These results indicate that asymmetric side-chain engineering opens a route for breath healthcare.

Properties of C_(60) thin film transistor based on polystyrene

This paper reports that the n-type organic thin-fihn transistors have been fabricated by using C60 as the active layer and polystyrene as the dielectric. The properties of insulator and the growth characteristic of C60 film were carefully investigated. By choosing different source/drain electrodes, a device with good performance can be obtained. The highest electron field effect mobility about 1.15 cm2/（V. s） could reach when Barium was introduced as electrodes. Moreover, the C60 transistor shows a negligible ＇hysteresis effect＇ contributed to the hydroxyl-free of insulator. The result suggests that polymer dielectrics are promising in applications among n-type organic transistors.

Orientation and mobility control of 4HCB organic film for flexible X-ray detectors with high performance

In comparison to inorganic counterparts,organic semiconducting(OSC)crystalline films are promising for building large-area and flexible ionizing radiation detectors for X-ray imaging or dosimetry due to their tissue equivalence,simple processing and large-scale production accessibility.Fabrication processes,how-ever,hinder the ability to generate aligned and large-area films with high carrier mobility.In this work,the space-confined melt process is used to produce highly orientated 4HCB(4-hydroxycyanobenzene)OSC films with a large area of 15×18 mm^(2).The out-of-plane direction of the 4HCB film is<001>,and the benzene rings are found to be extensively overlapped inside the in-plane direction,according to the XRD patterns.The film exhibits a high resistivity up to 1012cm,and high hole mobility of 10.62 cm^(2)V^(−1)s^(−1).Furthermore,the 4HCB(80μm-thick film)based X-ray detectors can achieve a sensitivity of 93μC Gy air^(−1) cm^(−2)and on/offratio of 157.The device also shows steady flexibility,with no degradation in detecting function after 100 cycles of bending.Finally,the proposed 4HCB film detectors demonstrated a high-resolution X-ray imaging capability.The imaging of several materials with sharp edges(copper and polytetrafluoroethylene)has been obtained.This work has developed a fast but efficient approach for producing large-area,highly oriented OSC films for high-performance X-ray detectors.

Tuning frictional properties of molecularly thin erucamide films through controlled self-assembling

Self-assembled films(SAFs)have been proposed to be a promising candidate for molecularly thin lubricants.However,the frictional performance of SAFs is sensitively dependent on their molecular structures that are susceptible to external environments.Taking erucamide,a fatty amide widely used as a macroscale slip additive,as an example,we demonstrate that SAFs can be readily formed on various substrates,including silicon oxide,sapphire,copper,and graphite.Through high-resolution topography and friction measurements,two types of erucamide SAFs are identified.The first type is atomically flat and exhibits clear atomic stick–slip friction behavior and ultra-low frictional dissipation;while the second type has a stripe-like nanoscale pattern and shows much higher(8 times higher)frictional dissipation.The sharp contrast between these two types of SAFs is attributed to their distinct molecular structures originating from different interactions between erucamide molecules and substrates.We further demonstrate that,by proper surface functionalization,we can actively and reliably control the molecular structures of SAFs through guided self-assembling,achieving rational friction tuning with patterning capability.

Impact of source and drain contact thickness on the performance of organic thin film transistors

This paper analyzes the impact of source（ts） and drain（td） contact thicknesses on top contact（TC） and bottom contact（BC） organic thin film transistors（OTFTs） with a gate in the bottom, using a benchmarked industry standard Atlas 2-D numerical device simulator. The parameters including drive current（Ids）, mobility（μ）, threshold voltage（Vt）and current on-off ratio（ION/IOFF） are analyzed from the device physics point of view on different electrode thicknesses, ranging from infinitesimal to 50 nm, for both top and bottom contact structures. Observations demonstrate that the performance of the BC structure is more affected by scaling of ts=din comparison to its counterpart. In the linear region, the mobility is almost constant at all the values of ts=dfor both structures. However,an increment of 18% and 83% in saturation region mobility is found for TC andBC structures, respectively with scaling down ts=dfrom 50–0 nm. Besides this, the current on-off ratio increases more sharply in the BC structure.This analysis simplifies a number of issues related to the design and fabrication of organic material based devices and circuits.

Electronic Structure Effect of Polythiophene Derivatives and Nano N-Zn-Ag/TiO2 on Performance of Organic Thin Film Solar Cell

Nanocrystal N-Zn-Ag/TiO2 powders were prepared with N-Zn/TiO2 by photo deposition method. A series of pure polymers P3HT[poly（3-hexylthiophene）], P3OT[poly（3-octylthiophene）], P3DT[poly（3-decylthiophene）] and P3DDT[poly（3-dodecylthiophene）], was synthesized, which were used to synthesize p-n type semiconductor mate- rials P3HT/N-Zn-Ag-TiO2, P3OT/N-Zn-Ag-TiO2, P3DT/N-Zn-Ag-TiO2 and P3DDT/N-Zn-Ag-TiO2 by in situ che- mical method. X-Ray diffraction（XRD） and infrared（IR） spectroscopy showed the structure of the polymers and complexes. Ultraviolet-visible（UV-Vis） spectra and cyclic voltammograms（CV） showed the optical and electronic performance of the polymers and complexes. Two new single and double organic thin film heterojunction solar cells were prepared with the above mentioned synthesized powders as raw materials. Current-voltage（I-V） measurements indicate that the conversion efficiency of the single organic thin film heterojunction solar cell is higher than that of the double organic thin film heterojunction solar cells. Single organic thin film heterojunction solar cells based on P3DT/N-Zn-Ag-TiO2 can get a photoelectric conversion efficiency of 0.0408%. The performance of electronic trans- form between electron donor and acceptor on organic thin film solar cells was researched.

n-Channel Organic Transistors Processed from Halogen-Free Solvents： Solvent Effect on Thin-Film Morphology and Charge Transport

Non-chlorinated solvents are highly preferable for organic electronic processing due to their environmentally friendly characteristics. Four different halogen-free solvents, tetrafuran, toluene, meta-xylene and 1,2,4-trimethyl- benzene, were selected to fabricate n-channel organic thin film transistors （OTFTs） based on 3-hexylundecyl sub- stituted naphthalene diimides fused with （1,3-dithiol-2-ylidene）malononitrile groups （NDI3HU-DTYM2）. The OTFTs based on NDI3HU-DTYM2 showed electron mobility of up to 1.37 cm2-V-1·s -1 under ambient condition. This is among the highest device performance for n-channel OTFTs processed from halogen-free solvents. The dif- ferent thin-film morphologies, from featureless low crystalline morphology to well-aligned nanofibres, have a great effect on the device performance. These results might shed some light on solvent selection and the resulting solution process for organic electronic devices.