Photoresponsive organic field-effect transistors involving photochromic molecules

In recent years,organic field-effect transistors（OFETs） with high performance and novel multifunctionalities have attracted considerable attention.Meanwhile,featured with reversible photoisomerization and the corresponding variation in color,chemical/physical properties,photochromic molecules have been applied in sensors,photo-switches and memories.Incorporation of photochromic molecules to blend in the device functional layers or to modify the interfaces of OFETs is common way to build photo-transistors.In this review,we focus on the recent advantages on the study of photoresponsive transistors involving one of three typical photochromic compounds spiropyran,diarylethene and azobenzene.Three main strategies are demonstrated in detail.Firstly,photochromic molecules are doped in active layers or combined with semiconductor structure thus forming photoreversible active layers.Secondly,the modification of dielectric layer/active layer interface is mainly carried out by bilayer dielectric.Thirdly,the photo-isomerization of self-assembled monolayer（SAM） on the electrode/active layer interface can reversibly modulate the work functions and charge injection barrier,result in bifunctional OFETs.All in all,the combination of photochromic molecules and OFETs is an efficient way for the fabrication of organic photoelectric devices.Photoresponsive transistors consisted of photochromic molecules are potential candidate for real applications in the future.

Thickness dependence of surface morphology and charge carrier mobility in organic field-effect transistors

With the aim of understanding the relationships between organic small molecule field-effect transistors （FETs） and organic conjugated polymer FETs, we investigate the thickness dependence of surface morphology and charge carrier mobility in pentacene and regioregular poly （3-hexylthiophene） （RR-P3HT） field-effect transistors. On the basis of the results of surface morphologies and electrical properties, we presume that the charge carrier mobility is largely related to the morphology of the organic active layer. We observe that the change trends of the surface morphologies （average size and average roughness） of pentacene and RR-P3HT thin films are mutually opposite, as the thickness of the organic layer increases. Further, we demonstrate that the change trends of the field-effect mobilities of pentacene and RR-P3HT FETs are also opposite to each other, as the thickness of the organic layer increases within its limit.

Determining the influence of ferroelectric polarization on electrical characteristics in organic ferroelectric field-effect transistors

Organic ferroelectric field-effect transistors （OFeFETs） are regarded as a promising technology for low-cost flexible memories. However, the electrical instability is still a critical obstacle, which limits the commercialization process. Based on already established models for polarization in ferroelectrics and charge transport in OFeFETs, simulation work is performed to determine the influence of polarization fatigue and ferroelectric switching transient on electrical characteristics in OFeFETs. The polarization fatigue results in the decrease of the on-state drain current and the memory window width and thus degrades the memory performance. The output measurements during the ferroelectric switching process show a hysteresis due to the instable polarization. In the on/off measurements, a large writing/erasing pulse frequency weakens the polarization modulation and thus results in a small separation between on- and off-state drain currents. According to the electrical properties of the ferroelectric layer, suggestions are given to obtain optimal electrical characterization for OFeFETs.

Controlled Growth of Large-Area Aligned Single-Crystalline Organic Nanoribbon Arrays for Transistors and Light-Emitting Diodes Driving

Organic field-effect transistors(OFETs) based on organic micro-/nanocrystals have been widely reported with charge carrier mobility exceeding 1.0 cm^2V^(-1)s^(-1), demonstrating great potential for high-performance, low-cost organic electronic applications. However, fabrication of large-area organic micro-/nanocrystal arrays with consistent crystal growth direction has posed a significant technical challenge. Here, we describe a solution-processed dip-coating technique to grow large-area, aligned 9,10-bis(phenylethynyl) anthracene(BPEA) and 6,13-bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl) pentacene(TIPSPEN) single-crystalline nanoribbon arrays. The method is scalable to a 5 9 10 cm^2 wafer substrate, with around 60% of the wafer surface covered by aligned crystals. The quality of crystals can be easily controlled by tuning the dip-coating speed. Furthermore, OFETs based on well-aligned BPEA and TIPS-PEN single-crystalline nanoribbons were constructed.By optimizing channel lengths and using appropriate metallic electrodes, the BPEA and TIPS-PEN-based OFETs showed hole mobility exceeding 2.0 cm^2V^(-1)s^(-1)(average mobility 1.2 cm^2V^(-1)s^(-1)) and 3.0 cm^2V^(-1)s^(-1)(average mobility2.0 cm^2V^(-1)s^(-1)), respectively. They both have a high on/off ratio(I_(on)/I_(off))>10~9. The performance can well satisfy the requirements for light-emitting diodes driving.

Enhanced charge carrier injection in heterojunction organic field-effect transistor by inserting an MoO_3 buffer layer

A top-contact organic field-effect transistor （OFET） is fabricated by adopting a pentacene/1,11-bis（di-4- tolylaminophenyl） cyclohexane （TAPC） heterojunction structure and inserting an MoO3 buffer layer between the TAPC organic semiconductor layer and the source/drain electrode. The performances of the heterojunction OFET, including output current, field-effect mobility, and threshed voltage~ are all significantly improved by introducing the MoO3 thin buffer layer. The performance improvement of the modified heterojunction OFET is attributed to a better contact formed at the Au/TAPC interface due to the MoO3 thin buffer layer, thereby leading to a remarkable reduction of the contact resistance at the metal/organic interface.

Hunting down the ohmic contact of organic field-effect transistor

We report properties of contact resistances observed on pentacene organic field-effect transistors(OFET) with four different source/drain electrodes, namely, copper(Cu), gold(Au), silver(Ag), and germanium(Ge). The metals were selected to provide a wide range of energy barriers for charge injection, from blocking contact to smooth injection. All OFETs exhibited strong voltage dependence of the contact resistance, even for devices with smooth injection, which is in strong disagreement with the definition of ohmic contacts. A comparison with current crowding, resistive network, Fowler–Nordheim tunneling, and electric field enhanced thermionic injection(Schottky emission) pointed to importance of local electric fields and/or electrostatic field charges.

Research on the electrical characteristics of an organic thin-film field-effect transistor based on alternating-current resistance

In this article, an organic thin-film field-effect transistor （OTFFET） with top-gate and bottom-contact geometry based on pentacene as the active layer is fabricated. The experimental data of the I-V are obtained from the OTFFET device. The alternating-current （AC） resistance value of the OTFFET device is calculated using the derivation method from the experimental data, and the AC resistance trend curves of the OTFFET device are obtained with the region fitting method. We analyse the characteristics of the OTFFET device with an AC resistance trend curve. To discover whether it has a high resistance, it is proposed to judge the region of the source/drain voltage （VDs） less than the transition voltage, thereby determining whether the contact between the metal electrode and the organic semiconductor layer of the OTFFET device is Ohmic or non-Ohmic. The theoretical analysis shows that the field-effect mobility and the AC resistance are in reverse proportion. Therefore, we point out that reducing AC resistance is necessary if field-effect mobility is to be improved.

Study of top and bottom contact resistance in one organic field-effect transistor

This paper reports that the organic field-effect transistors with hybrid contact geometry were fabricated, in which the top electrodes and the bottom electrodes were combined in parallel resistances within one transistor. With the facility of the novel structure, the difference of contact resistance between the top contact geometry and the bottom contact geometry was studied. The hybrid contact devices showed similar characteristics with the top contact configuration devices, which provide helpful evidence on the lower contact resistance of the top contact configuration device. The origin of the different contact resistance between the top contact device and the bottom contact device was discussed.

Methylthio side-chain modified quinoidal benzo-[1,2-b:4,5-b']dithiophene derivatives for high-performance ambipolar organic field-effect transistors

Quinoidal small molecule semiconductors hold huge potential in ambipolar organic field-effect transistors(OFETs)and organic spintronic devices.Here,two quinoidal molecules with methylthio side chains were synthesized to develop molecular semiconductors with high ambipolar mobility,designated QBDTS and QTBDTS.The theoretical calculation results reveal that QBDTS has a closed-shell structure while QTBDTS showed an open-shell structure with a biradical character(y0)of 0.46 and its magnetic properties were further investigated using electron paramagnetic resonance(EPR)and superconducting quantum interference device(SQUID)methods.The methyl side chains showed a large impact on the molecular orbital levels.The HOMO/LUMO levels of QBDTS and QTBDTS were measured to be-5.66/-4.56 and-5.27/-4.48 eV,respectively,which are favorable for ambipolar charge transport in OFETs.Importantly,the spin-coated QBDTS displayed hole and electron mobilities of 0.01 and 0.5 cm^(2)V^(-1)s^(-1)while QTBDTS showed a record high hole mobility of 1.8 cm^(2)V^(-1)s^(-1)and electron mobility of 0.3 cm^(2)V^(-1)s^(-1).Moreover,comparative studies of the thin film morphologies also manifested the beneficial influence of methyl side chains on film crystallinity and molecule orientation.These results strongly proved that methyl side chain engineering can be a simple but efficient strategy for modulating electronic properties and molecular stacking behaviors.This work also represents a big advancement for quinoidal molecular semiconductors in ambipolar OFET applications.

Polyethylene interfacial dielectric layer for organic semiconductor single crystal based field-effect transistors

Organic semiconductor single crystals(OSSCs) have shown their promising potential in high-performance organic field-effect transistors(OFETs). The interfacial dielectric layers are critical in these OFETs as they not only govern the key semiconductor/dielectric interface quality but also determine the growth of OSSCs by their wetting properties. However, reported interfacial dielectric layers either need rigorous preparation processes, rely on certain surface chemistry reactions, or exhibit poor solvent resistance, which limits their applications in low-cost, large-area, monolithic fabrication of OSSC-based OFETs. In this work, polyethylene(PE) thin films and lamellar single crystals are utilized as the interfacial dielectric layers, providing solvent resistive but wettable surfaces that facilitate the crystallization of 6,13-bis(tri-isopropylsilylethynyl)pentacene(TIPS-PEN) and 6,13-bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl)-5,7,12,14-tetraazapentacene(TIPS-TAP). As evidenced by the presence of ambipolar behavior in TIPS-PEN single crystals and the high electron mobility(2.3 ± 0.34 cm^(2)V^(-1)s^(-1)) in TIPS-TAP single crystals, a general improvement on electron transport with PE interfacial dielectric layers is revealed, which likely associates with the chemically inertness of the saturated C-H bonds. With the advantages in both processing and device operation, the PE interfacial dielectric layer potentially offers a monolithic way for the enhancement of electron transport in solution-processed OSSC-based OFETs.

Bioassay of Carcinoembryonic Antigens by Organic Field-effect Transistors Based on D-A Type Conjugated Polymer

Biosensors based on organic field-effect transistors(OFETs)are one of the most promising electronic devices for emerging bioanalytical applications.The selection of organic semiconductors(OSCs)is essential to improve the sensitivity and reliability of this kind of biosensors.Given the good field effect performance and tunable structures of D-A type conjugated polymers,here,we design two D-A type copolymers[P(BDT-co-DPP2T-ThC_(2))and P(BDT-co-DPP2T-Th)],which are applied as the OSC layers.With carcinoembryonic antigen antibody(anti-CEA)adsorbed onto the OSC layers as the recognition sites,OFETs based biosensors for CEA detection are developed.The experimental findings support that the attachment of ester side groups onto the polymer backbone[as for P(BDT-co-DPP2T-ThC_(2))]is favorable for improved solubility and filming properties of the polymer.The introduction of ester side groups affects molecular stacking and enhances intermolecular forces.The resultant devices show high charge mobility and antibody adsorption ability,both of which are critical for sensitive and facile detection of CEA biomarkers.The reliable determination of CEA down to the picomolar level is determined.It is expected that this kind of biosensors fabricated by D-A type conducting polymers will open new avenues toward the early diagnosis,real-time monitoring and treatment of future cancer diseases.

Tetramethylammonium Iodide Additive for Enhancing the Charge Carrier Mobilities of Diketopyrrolopyrrole-Based Conju-gated Polymer in Ambipolar Organic Field-Effect Transistors

Diketopyrrolopyrrole(DPP)is one of the most promising building blocks for constructing polymer semiconductors with high charge-carrier mobilities in organic field-effect transistors(OFETs).In this study,a novel DPP-based conjugated polymer,PDPPy-BDD,was designed and synthesized.The ambipolar field-effect transistor characteristics were realized with the average hole and electron mobilities of 3.5×10^(-3)and 3.07×10^(-2)cm^(2)V^(-1)s^(-1),respectively.Both the hole and electron mobilities could be successfully en-hanced by using a tetramethylammonium iodide(NMe4l)additive.Such an enhancement was attributed to the formation of stronger interchainπ-πstackings,the weakening of the face-on packing orientation in the thin film state,and the higher channel conductivi-ties in the OFETs.

Recent Progress in Donor-Acceptor Type Conjugated Polymers for Organic Field-effect Transistors

The recent progress in the design and synthesis of high-performance donor-acceptor conjugated polymeric semiconducting materials is reviewed from the perspective of multiscale structures.The multiscale of conjugated polymers is from the primary one-dimensional polymer molecular scale to the secondary polymer-chains interaction scale,and then to the tertiary polymer aggregate scale.This review focuses on the design and synthesis of polymer molecules,proposes new classification rules,and rationally summarizes the design strategies and modulation methods of polymers.We describe the recent progress from these three aspects:(1)the modification ofπ-conjugated backbone,(2)the evolution of the polymerization methods,and(3)the regulation of aggregate-state structure.

Analytic models for organic field-effect transistors based on exponential and power mobility models

The fundamental I-V formula of an organic field effect transistor(OFET)is improved to overcome the divergence of the integrand,so it is very convenient for both numerical calculations and analytic derivations.The analytic I-V formulae are derived based on the exponential mobility model and power-function mobility model,respectively,and the derived analytic formulae are applied to three OFET devices.The results calculated from the reformulated analytic I-V formulae taking in exponential and power function mobility models are all in good agreement with the experimental I-V data.The parameters μ_(0) and γ that are extracted from the mobility model and fitted by experimental data show simple Arrhenius temperature dependence and inverse linear relationship with temperature,respectively.These findings are very useful for practical applications and device simulations.

Metal–Organic Framework-Based Sensors for Environmental Contaminant Sensing

Increasing demand for timely and accurate environmental pollution monitoring and control requires new sensing techniques with outstanding performance, i.e.,high sensitivity, high selectivity, and reliability. Metal–organic frameworks(MOFs), also known as porous coordination polymers, are a fascinating class of highly ordered crystalline coordination polymers formed by the coordination of metal ions/clusters and organic bridging linkers/ligands. Owing to their unique structures and properties,i.e., high surface area, tailorable pore size, high density of active sites, and high catalytic activity, various MOF-based sensing platforms have been reported for environmental contaminant detection including anions, heavy metal ions,organic compounds, and gases. In this review, recent progress in MOF-based environmental sensors is introduced with a focus on optical, electrochemical, and field-effect transistor sensors. The sensors have shown unique and promising performance in water and gas contaminant sensing. Moreover, by incorporation with other functional materials, MOF-based composites can greatly improve the sensor performance. The current limitations and future directions of MOF-based sensors are also discussed.

A high mobility C_(60) field-effect transistor with an ultrathin pentacene passivation layer and bathophenanthroline/metal bilayer electrodes

C60 field-effect transistor （OFET） with a mobility as high as 5.17 cm2/V.s is fabricated. In our experiment, an ultrathin pentacene passivation layer on poly-（methyl methacrylate） （PMMA） insulator and a bathophenanthroline （Bphen）/Ag bilayer electrode are prepared. The OFET shows a significant enhancement of electron mobility compared with the corresponding device with a single PMMA insultor and an Ag electrode. By analysing the C60 film with atomic force microscopy and X-ray diffraction techniques, it is shown that the pentacene passivation layer can contribute to C60 film growth with the large grain size and significantly improve crystallinity. Moreover, the Bphen buffer layer can reduce the electron contact barrier from Ag electrodes to C60 film efficiently.

Grain boundary engineering of organic semiconductor films in organic transistors

Organicfield-effect transistors(OFETs)show great application potential in organic electronic and optoelectronicfields due to their excellent mechanicalflexibility,low cost,and solution processing.However,grain boundaries(GBs)disrupt the aggrega-tion state of organic semiconductor(OSC)films and hinder electrical performance and stability,which limits the application of OFETs.Besides,the sensitive nature of GBs is widely used in sensing,but detailed descriptions of the GBs are scarce.This review aims tofill this knowledge gap.The role of GBs and their effect on the per-formance and stability of OFETs are analyzed,followed by a detailed summary of the characterization of GBs.Then,strategies for suppressing the negative effects of GBs and utilizing the sensitive nature of GBs for application are proposed.Finally,potential research directions for GBs in OFETs are discussed.

High carrier mobility and strong fluorescence emission: Toward highly sensitive single-crystal organic phototransistors

Organic single crystals(OSCs)offer a unique combination of both individual and collective properties of the employed molecules,but it remains highly challenging to achieve OSCs with both high mobilities and strong fluorescence emissions for their potential applications in multifunctional optoelectronics.Herein,we demonstrate the design and synthesis of two novel triphenylamine-functionalized thienoacenes-based organic semiconductors,4,8-distriphenylamineethynylbenzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene(4,8-DTEBDT)and 2,6-distriphenylamineethynylbenzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene(2,6-DTEBDT),with high-mobility and strong fluorescence emission.The two compounds show the maximum mobilities up to 0.25 and 0.06 cm^(2) V^(-1) s^(-1),the photoluminescence quantum yields(PLQYs)of 51% and 45%,and the small binding energies down to 55.13 and 58.79 meV.The excellent electrical and optical properties ensured the application of 4,8-DTEBDT and 2,6-DTEBDT single crystals in ultrasensitive UV phototransistors,achieving high photoresponsivity of 9.60×105 and 6.43×10^(4) AW^(-1),and detectivity exceeding 5.68×10^(17) and 2.99×10^(16) Jones.

High mobility organic semiconductors for field-effect transistors

Organic field-effect transistors(OFETs) are attracting more and more attention due to their potential applications in low-cost, large-area and flexible electronic products. Organic semiconductors(OSCs) are the key components of OFETs and basically determine the device performance. The past five years have witnessed great progress of OSCs. OSCs used for OFETs have made rapid progress, with field-effect mobility much larger than that of amorphous silicon(0.5?1.0 cm2/(V s)) and of up to 10 cm2/(V s) or even higher. In this review, we demonstrate the latest progress of OSCs for OFETs, where more than 50 representative OSCs are highlighted and analyzed to give some valuable insights for this important but challenging field.

Monolayer organic field-effect transistors

Monolayer organic field-effect transistors(OFETs) are attracting worldwide interest in device physics and novel applications due to their ultrathin active layer for two-dimensional charge transport. The monolayer films are generally prepared by thermal evaporation, the Langmuir technique or self-assembly process, etc., but their electrical performance is relatively lower than corresponding thick films. From 2011, the performance of monolayer OFETs has been boosted by using the monolayer molecular crystals(MMCs) as active channels, which opened up a new era for monolayer OFETs. In this review, recent progress of monolayer OFETs, including the preparation of monolayer films, their OFET performance and applications are summarized.Finally, perspectives of monolayer OFETs in the near future are also discussed.