The surface free energy of a dielectric has a strong influence on the performance of pentacene thin-film transistors. Research shows that by matching surface free energy in the interface of the dielectric and the orthorhombic thin-film phase of pentacene film, the field-effect mobility of transistors is enhanced reaching above 2.0cm2∕Vs. The authors suggested that a more complete first monolayer of pentacene was formed upon the gate dielectric surface with almost identical surface free energy, benefiting carrier transportation. The research also discusses the mechanism of surface free energy effects on the crystalline size and structural disorder in pentacene film.

An innovative technique for surface modification of pentacene thin-film transistors (TFTs) with mobility greater than 1.92 cm2 V-1 s-1 is reported in this paper. Photosensitive polyimide was used as a modification layer presenting a nonpolar interface on which the semiconductor, pentacene, could grow. The surface of the modification layer was exposed to a polarized ultraviolet light with a dose of 1 J to achieve a nonpolar surface on which high-performance TFTs have been fabricated. The experiment showed that the parasitic contact resistances of silver electrodes could be extracted by the gated-transfer length method, and the corrected field-effect mobility of pentacene TFTs in the linear region was as high as 2.25 cm2 V-1 s-1.

No abstract