skip to main content
US FlagAn official website of the United States government
dot gov icon
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
https lock icon
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Explore Research Products in the PAR
It may take a few hours for recently added research products to appear in PAR search results.


Title: Textured Poling of the Ferroelectric Dielectric Layer for Improved Organic Field‐Effect Transistors
Abstract Polymer ferroelectrics are playing an increasingly active role in flexible memory application and wearable electronics. The relaxor ferroelectric dielectric, poly(vinylidene fluoride trifluorethylene (PVDF‐TrFE), although vastly used in organic field‐effect transistors (FETs), has issues with gate leakage current especially when the film thickness is below 500 nm. This work demonstrates a novel method of selective poling the dielectric layer. By using solution‐processed 6,13‐bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl)pentacene (TIPS‐pentacene) as the organic semiconductor, it is shown that textured poling of the PVDF‐TrFE layer dramatically improves FET properties compared to unpoled or uniformly poled ferroelectric films. The texturing is achieved by first vertically poling the PVDF‐TrFE film and then laterally poling the dielectric layer close to the gate electrode. TIPS‐pentacene FETs show on/off ratios of 105and hole mobilities of 1 cm2Vs−1under ambient conditions with operating voltages well below −5 V. The electric field distribution in the dielectric layer is simulated by using finite difference time domain methods.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1707588
PAR ID:
10462165
Author(s) / Creator(s):
 ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  
Publisher / Repository:
Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Advanced Materials Interfaces
Volume:
6
Issue:
4
ISSN:
2196-7350
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. ; ; (, Advanced Materials Interfaces)
    Abstract Combined with polymer ferroelectric dielectrics, organic field‐effect transistors are promising candidates for both electrical and photonic synapses to emulate important functions of biological synapses. In this work two distinct copolymers of poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) with trifluoroethylene and hexafluoropropylene, PVDF‐TrFE and PVDF‐HFP, respectively, are utilized as ferroelectric dielectrics due to their polarization control and non‐volatile polarization hysteresis. Using a donor–acceptor copolymer as the semiconductor layer, bottom‐gate, top‐contact transistors are fabricated with externally poled and unpoled films of PVDF‐TrFE and PVDF‐HFP where the operating voltages are less than 10 V. On average, poled PVDF‐TrFE FETs show improved characteristics with carrier mobilities > 1 cm2V−1s−1. The individual transistors are evaluated in a system level network for image recognition. The synaptic response of these devices is quantified using key metrics such as the dynamic range and nonlinearity of the analog channel conductance modulation, which are then employed to simulate the neural network behavior. The accuracy of the network in recognizing a set of handwritten digits is used to assess the effectiveness of these devices in neuromorphic architectures. The results are analyzed in terms of the poling condition of the ferroelectric dielectric, the margin of conductance modulation, and the nonlinear weight updates. 
    more » « less
  2. ; ; ; (, Electronic Materials)
    null (Ed.)
    The use of high κ dielectrics lowers the operating voltage in organic field-effect transistors (FETs). Polymer ferroelectrics open the path not just for high κ values but allow processing of the dielectric films via electrical poling. Poled ferroelectric dielectrics in p-type organic FETs was seen to improve carrier mobility and reduce leakage current when compared to unpoled devices using the same dielectric. For n-type FETs, solution-processed ZnO films provide a viable low-cost option. UV–ozone-treated ZnO films was seen to improve the FET performance due to the filling of oxygen vacancies. P-type FETs were fabricated using the ferroelectric polymer poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) (PVDF-TrFE) as the dielectric along with a donor–acceptor polymer based on diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP-DTT) as the semiconductor layer. The DPP-DTT FETs yield carrier mobilities upwards of 0.4 cm2/Vs and high on/off ratios when the PVDF-TrFE layer is electrically poled. For n-type FETs, UV–ozone-treated sol–gel ZnO films on SiO2 yield carrier mobilities of 10−2 cm2/Vs. DPP-DTT-based p- and ZnO-based n-type FETs were used in a complementary voltage inverter circuit, showing promising characteristic gain. A basic inverter model was used to simulate the inverter characteristics, using parameters from the individual FET characteristics. 
    more » « less
  3. ; ; ; ; ; (, Materials Research Express)
    Abstract Flexible nanocomposite films, with cobalt ferrite nanoparticles (CFN) as the ferromagnetic component and polyvinylidene fluoride–trifluoroethylene (PVDF-TrFE) copolymer as the ferroelectric matrix, were fabricated using a blade coating technique. Nanocomposite films were prepared using a two-step process; the first process involves the synthesis of cobalt ferrite (CoFe2O4) nanoparticles using a sonochemical method, and then incorporation of various weight percentages (0, 2.5, 5, and 10%) of cobalt ferrite nanoparticles into the PVDF-TrFE to form nanocomposites. The ferroelectric polarβphase of PVDF-TrFE was confirmed by x-ray diffraction (XRD). Thermal studies of films showed notable improvement in the thermal properties of the nanocomposite films with the incorporation of nanoparticles. The ferroelectric properties of the pure polymer/composite films were studied, showing a significant improvement of maximum polarization upon 5wt% CFN loading in PVDF-TrFE composite films compared to the PVDF-TrFE film. The magnetic properties of as-synthesized CFN and the polymer nanocomposites were studied, showing a magnetic saturation of 53.7 emu g−1at room temperature, while 10% cobalt ferrite-(PVDF-TrFE) nanocomposite shows 27.6 emu/g. We also describe a process for fabricating high optical quality pure PVDF-TrFE and pinhole-free nanocomposite films. Finally, the mechanical studies revealed that the mechanical strength of the films increases up to 5 wt% loading of the nanoparticles in the copolymer matrix and then decreases. This signifies that the obtained films could be suited for flexible electronics. 
    more » « less
  4. ; ; ; ; (, Applied Physics Letters)
    While electrical poling of organic ferroelectrics has been shown to improve device properties, there are challenges in visualizing accompanying structural changes. We observe poling induced changes in ferroelectric domains by applying differential phase contrast (DPC) imaging in the scanning transmission electron microscope, a method that has been used to observe spatial distributions of electromagnetic fields at the atomic scale. In this work, we obtain DPC images from unpoled and electrically poled polyvinylidene fluoride trifluorethylene films and compare their performance in polymer thin film transistors. The vertically poled films show uniform domains throughout the bulk compared to the unpoled film with a significantly higher magnitude of the overall polarization. Thin film transistors comprising a donor–acceptor copolymer as the active semiconductor layer show improved performance with the vertically poled ferroelectric dielectric film compared with the unpoled ferroelectric dielectric film. A poling field of 80–100 MV/m for the dielectric layer yields the best performing transistors; higher than 100 MV/m is seen to degrade the transistor performance. The results are consistent with a reduction in deleterious charge carrier scattering from ferroelectric domain boundaries or interfacial dipoles arising from electrical poling. 
    more » « less
  5. ; ; ; ; ; ; (, Polymer)
    Within the linear regime of mechanical and electrical responses, it is commonly accepted that direct and converse piezoelectric coefficients should be the same. However, we observed a consistently higher converse d31 (∼54 pm/V) than the direct d31 (∼42 pC/N) for a quenched, stretched, annealed, and electrically poled poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-trifluorethylene) [P(VDF-TrFE)] 52/48 mol.% sample (abbreviated as coP-52/48QSAP). On the contrary, the direct and converse d31 values were the same for coP-65/35QSAP and coP-55/45QSAP. Small-angle X-ray scattering results showed that coP-52/48QSAP had a higher amount of relaxor-like secondary crystals (SCs) in the oriented amorphous fraction (OAF) (SCOAF) than coP-55/45QSAP and coP-65/35QSAP. To explain the experimental observation, we performed molecular dynamics (MD) simulation of the pure PVDF (without TrFE) to estimate direct and converse piezoelectricity for the PVDF OAF. Based on the MD simulation, the direct d31 had a plateau value around 350 pC/N for the transverse (i.e., along the chain direction) strain up to 1 %, whereas the simulated converse d31 could be lower (for electric field E < 0.8 MV/m), equal (for E = 0.8 MV/m), or higher (for E > 0.8 MV/m) than the direct d31, depending on the poling electric field. From the MD simulation, both mechano-electrostriction and electrostatic interaction were identified in the OAF as the driving force for enhanced piezoelectricity in ferroelectric PVDF. When ferroelectric domains were formed in the OAF by electric poling, the simulated converse d31 became higher than the direct d31. Combining both experimental and MD simulation results, the higher converse d31 than direct d31 for coP-52/48QSAP was understood qualitatively. 
    more » « less
  • Citation Formats
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago
  • BibTeX
  • Save / Share this Record
  • Send to Email