Solvent Effects on the Transient Characteristics of Liquid-Gate Field Effect Transistors with Silicon Substrate

Abstract

The transient characteristics of EDL-gated field effect transistors with Si as an active semiconductor were studied using various electrolyte solutions of LiBF4 by applying a step-function voltage in order to determine the optimum electrolyte for semiconductor circuits using EDL. The tR, determined by EDL dynamics in the present experiment, showed a minimum as a function of the solvent due to the competing effects of the EDL thickness and viscosity. The tR of the electrolyte solutions with various solvents at the same concentration were classified into three categories: slow response of a complexforming solvent, medium response of protic solvents and fast response of nonprotic solvents. The best response time was 55 s when a 1.0 M acetonitrile solution was used as the liquid-gate insulator.2