High operational and environmental stability of high-mobility conjugated polymer field-effect transistors through the use of molecular additives

Nikolka, Mark; Nasrallah, Iyad; Rose, Bradley D.; Ravva, Mahesh Kumar; Broch, Katharina; Sadhanala, Aditya; Harkin, David; Charmet, Jérôme; Hurhangee, Michael; Brown, Adam R.; Illig, Steffen; Too, P.; Jongman, Jan; McCulloch, Iain; Brédas, Jean‐Luc; Sirringhaus, Henning

doi:10.1038/nmat4785

Cited by 383 publications

(410 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…5d) because of the traps. According to several studies 50, 51, 66 , we found that the polymer interaction with water results in an electrochemical oxidation of the polymer, while the interaction with the molecular oxygen gives rise to a formation of localized electron traps below the LUMO energy level. These findings extend to the case of ambipolar semiconductors 34, 67 and air-induced electron trapping in n-type polymer semiconductors 51 as reported in previous works, thus revealing that vacuum annealing is crucial to obtain ambipolar charge transport in PDPP3T.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 94%

Balancing Hole and Electron Conduction in Ambipolar Split-Gate Thin-Film Transistors

Yoo

Ghittorelli

Lee

et al. 2017

Sci Rep

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Complementary organic electronics is a key enabling technology for the development of new applications including smart ubiquitous sensors, wearable electronics, and healthcare devices. High-performance, high-functionality and reliable complementary circuits require n- and p-type thin-film transistors with balanced characteristics. Recent advancements in ambipolar organic transistors in terms of semiconductor and device engineering demonstrate the great potential of this route but, unfortunately, the actual development of ambipolar organic complementary electronics is currently hampered by the uneven electron (n-type) and hole (p-type) conduction in ambipolar organic transistors. Here we show ambipolar organic thin-film transistors with balanced n-type and p-type operation. By manipulating air exposure and vacuum annealing conditions, we show that well-balanced electron and hole transport properties can be easily obtained. The method is used to control hole and electron conductions in split-gate transistors based on a solution-processed donor-acceptor semiconducting polymer. Complementary logic inverters with balanced charging and discharging characteristics are demonstrated. These findings may open up new opportunities for the rational design of complementary electronics based on ambipolar organic transistors.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 94%

Balancing Hole and Electron Conduction in Ambipolar Split-Gate Thin-Film Transistors

Yoo

Ghittorelli

Lee

et al. 2017

Sci Rep

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“…Their molecular structures are shown in Figure 1b. This solution‐processed polymer/small‐molecule composite can act as an effective active layer for enabling high environmental/operational stability and good uniformity of OFETs 34. As one of key elements of the OFETs, the gate dielectric was solution processed by combining a thick polyelectrolyte film of hydrophilic PAA with a thin insulator layer of lipophilic PMMA.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Solution‐Processed Bilayer Dielectrics for Flexible Low‐Voltage Organic Field‐Effect Transistors in Pressure‐Sensing Applications

Yin

Liu

et al. 2018

Advanced Science

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Flexible pressure sensors based on organic field‐effect transistors (OFETs) have emerged as promising candidates for electronic‐skin applications. However, it remains a challenge to achieve low operating voltages of hysteresis‐free flexible pressure sensors. Interface engineering of polymer dielectrics is a feasible strategy toward sensitive pressure sensors based on low‐voltage OFETs. Here, a novel type of solution‐processed bilayer dielectrics is developed by combining a thick polyelectrolyte layer of polyacrylic acid (PAA) with a thin poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) layer. This bilayer dielectric can provide a vertical phase separation structure from hydrophilic interface to hydrophobic interface which adjoins well to organic semiconductors, leading to improved stability and remarkably reduced leakage currents. Consequently, OFETs using the PMMA/PAA dielectrics reveal greatly suppressed hysteresis and improved mobility compared to those with a pure PAA dielectric. Using the optimized PMMA/PAA dielectric, flexible OFET‐based pressure sensors that show a record high sensitivity of 56.15 kPa−1 at a low operating voltage of −5 V, a fast response time of less than 20 ms, and good flexibility are further demonstrated. The salient features of high capacitance, good dielectric performance, and excellent reliability of the bilayer dielectrics promise a bright future of flexible sensors based on low‐voltage OFETs for wearable electronic applications.

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“…We speculate that the ambient-induced asymmetry could be caused by water molecules trapped in voids in the AL. Water molecules have been recently reported to induce traps in conjugated polymers for field-effect transistors, 31 while oxidation of PCBM is known to also induce traps. 32 A third possibility is that ambient exposure leads to a degradation of the lamination interface, where a region of electron traps is formed, blocking the extraction of electrons generated in AL1.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Asymmetric photocurrent extraction in semitransparent laminated flexible organic solar cells

et al. 2018

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1Scalable production methods and low-cost materials with low embodied energy are key to success for organic solar cells. PEDOT (PSS) electrodes meet these criteria and allow for low-cost and all solution-processed solar cells. However, such devices are prone to shunting. In this work we introduce a roll-to-roll lamination method to construct semitransparent solar cells with a PEDOT(PSS) anode and an polyethyleneimine (PEI) modified PEDOT(PSS) cathode. We use the polymer:PCBM active layer coated on the electrodes as the lamination adhesive. Our lamination method efficiently eliminates any shunting. Extended exposure to ambient degrades the laminated devices, which manifests in a significantly reduced photocurrent extraction when the device is illuminated through the anode, despite the fact that the PEDOT(PSS) electrodes are optically equivalent. We show that degradation-induced electron traps lead to increased trap-assisted recombination at the anode side of the device. By limiting the exposure time to ambient during production, degradation is significantly reduced. We show that lamination using the active layer as the adhesive can result in device performance equal to that of conventional sequential coating.npj Flexible Electronics (2018) 2:4 ; doi:10.1038/s41528-017-0017-6 INTRODUCTIONThere is an urgent need to replace the present fossil-based energy production with sustainable energy sources. Thin-film solar cells and organic photovoltaics (OPV) in particular are technologies with a large potential to contribute to the energy transition due to very short energy payback times 1 and scalable production methods.2 The best devices approach 12% power conversion efficiency (PCE) 3 and due to improved OPV performance under low light-intensity conditions the yearly-average energy output is improved, reducing the competitive gap between OPV and silicon photovoltaics. Nevertheless, the OPV technology is not intended to compete with the high PCE of silicon-based solar cell installations but is instead targeted for entry markets that require the unique features of OPV, such as curved form factors enabled by flexible substrates, color tunability, semitransparency, low weight and the uniquely low energy payback times.To realize these advantages materials and production methods must be scalable with high throughput, such as roll-to-roll printing under ambient atmosphere. Vacuum-based processing, commonly used to deposit reflective (such as aluminum/chromium or silver) or transparent metal electrodes (indium tin oxide (ITO)), should ideally be avoided due to their high energy input.4 Indium in ITO is in addition too scarce to be a scalable alternative. Solution-processed electrodes have a significantly lower embodied energy and allow for the high speed printing needed for scalable production. To fully utilize the benefits of solution processing all layers in the device should be coated or printed.The use of semitransparent Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrenesulfonate), PEDOT(PSS) electrodes for both the anode

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High operational and environmental stability of high-mobility conjugated polymer field-effect transistors through the use of molecular additives

Cited by 383 publications

References 31 publications

Balancing Hole and Electron Conduction in Ambipolar Split-Gate Thin-Film Transistors

Balancing Hole and Electron Conduction in Ambipolar Split-Gate Thin-Film Transistors

Solution‐Processed Bilayer Dielectrics for Flexible Low‐Voltage Organic Field‐Effect Transistors in Pressure‐Sensing Applications

Asymmetric photocurrent extraction in semitransparent laminated flexible organic solar cells

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