We developed a simple method to improve the stability of organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) with bilayer gate dielectrics. The bilayer gate dielectric comprises an amorphous fluoropolymer (CYTOP) layer and an Al2O3-HfO2 nanolaminate (NL) grown by the atomic layer deposition (ALD) technique. In the OFETs with bilayer gate dielectrics, two aging mechanisms exist, and they cause the shifts of threshold voltage in opposite directions during long-term operation. By engineering the bilayer gate dielectric, the effects of these two mechanisms can compensate, leading to devices with remarkable operational stability that is comparable or superior to that of commercial inorganic counterparts. The NL grown by ALD shows excellent encapsulation property and improves the environmental stability of the OFETs. The devices are tested by exposing the devices to high temperature and high moisture conditions (i.e., the standard 85/85 condition, meaning 85°C and 85% relative humidity). The results of OFETs with CYTOP/NL bilayer gate dielectrics are presented and compared to those OFETs with Al2O3 gate dielectrics.
Organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) have the potential to lead to low-cost flexible displays, wearable electronics, and sensors. While recent efforts have focused greatly on improving the maximum charge mobility that can be achieved in such devices, studies about the stability and reliability of such high performance devices are relatively scarce. In this talk, we will discuss the results of recent studies aimed at improving the stability of OFETs under operation and their shelf lifetime. In particular, we will focus on device architectures where the gate dielectric is engineered to act simultaneously as an environmental barrier layer.
In the past, our group had demonstrated solution-processed top-gate OFETs using TIPS-pentacene and PTAA blends as a semiconductor layer with a bilayer gate dielectric layer of CYTOP/Al2O3, where the oxide layer was fabricated by atomic layer deposition, ALD. Such devices displayed high operational stability with little degradation after 20,000 on/off scan cycles or continuous operation (24 h), and high environmental stability when kept in air for more than 2 years, with unchanged carrier mobility. Using this stable device geometry, simple circuits and sensors operating in aqueous conditions were demonstrated. However, the Al2O3 layer was found to degrade due to corrosion under prolonged exposure in aqueous solutions. In this talk, we will report on the use of a nanolaminate (NL) composed of Al2O3 and HfO2 by ALD to replace the Al2O3 single layer in the bilayer gate dielectric use in top-gate OFETs. Such OFETs were found to operate under harsh condition such as immersion in water at 95 °C.
This work was funded by the Department of Energy (DOE) through the Bay Area Photovoltaics Consortium (BAPVC) under Award Number DE-EE0004946.
We demonstrate top-gate organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) with a bilayer gate dielectric and doped contacts fabricated on shape-memory polymer (SMP) substrates. SMPs exhibit large variations in Young’s modulus dependent on temperature and have the ability to fix two or more geometric configurations when a proper stimulus is applied. These unique properties make SMPs desirable for three-dimensional shape applications of OFETs. The electrical properties of OFETs on SMP substrates are presented and compared to those of OFETs on traditional glass substrates.
We discuss a non-vacuum low-cost reverse stamping method for the realization of circuits based on top-gate organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) with a bi-layer gate dielectric. This method allows for patterning of high-k inorganic dielectric films produced by atomic layer deposition and consequently of the bilayer gate dielectric layers used in our top-gate OFETs. We demonstrate the fabrication and operation of logic inverters and ring oscillators following this approach.
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