Doping can alter certain electronics, including the thermoelectric properties of an organic semiconductor. These alterations may enable viable tunable devices that could be useful in temperature sensing for autonomous controls. Here, we demonstrate a dual-modulation organic field-effect transistor (OFET) where temperature can modulate the current-voltage characteristics of the OFET and gate voltage can modulate the thermoelectric properties of the active layer in the same device. Specifically, Poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT) was utilized as the host p-type semiconducting polymer, and iodine was utilized as the thermoelectric minority dopant. The finished devices were characterized with a semiconductor analyzer system with temperature controlled using two thermoelectric cooling plates. The FETs with iodine doping levels in the range of 0.25% to 0.5% mole ratio with respect to the P3HT exhibit the greatest on/off ratios. This study also observed that P3HT thin film samples with an intermediate iodine doping concentration of 0.25% mole ratio exhibit an optimal thermoelectric power factor (PF).
more »
« less
Polymeric Semiconductor in Field-Effect Transistors Utilizing Flexible and High-Surface Area Expanded Poly(tetrafluoroethylene) Membrane Gate Dielectrics
Organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) were fabricated using three high-surface area and flexible expanded-poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (ePTFE) membranes in gate dielectrics, along with the semiconducting polymer poly[2,5-bis(2-octyldodecyl)pyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrrole-1,4(2H,5H)-dione-3,6-diyl)-alt-(2,2’;5’,2’’;5’’,2’’’-quaterthiophen-5,5’’’-diyl)] (PDPP4T). The transistor behavior of these devices was investigated following annealing at 50°C, 100°C, 150°C, and 200°C, all sustained for 1 hour. For annealing temperatures above 50°C, the OFETs displayed improved transistor behavior and a significant increase in output current while maintaining similar magnitudes of Vth shifts when subject to static voltage, compared to those kept at ambient temperature. We also tested response to NO2 gas as further characterization and for possible applications. The ePTFE-PDPP4T interface of each membrane was characterized via scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for all four annealing temperatures to derive a model for the hole mobility of the ePTFE-PDPP4T OFETs that accounts for the microporous structure of the ePTFE and consequently adjusts the channel width of the OFET. Using this model, a maximum hole mobility of 1.8±1.0 cm2/V·s was calculated for the polymer in an ePTFE-PDPP4T OFET annealed at 200°C whereas a PDPP4T OFET using only the native silicon wafer oxide as a gate dielectric exhibited a hole mobility of just 0.09±0.03 cm2/V·s at the same annealing condition. This work demonstrates that responsive semiconducting polymer films can be deposited on nominally nonwetting and extremely bendable membranes, and the charge carrier mobility can be significantly increased compared to their as-prepared state by using thermally durable polymer membranes with unique microstructures as gate dielectrics.
more »
« less
- Award ID(s):
- 2234261
- PAR ID:
- 10559872
- Publisher / Repository:
- American Cheimcal Society
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
- Volume:
- 16
- Issue:
- 10
- ISSN:
- 1944-8244
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 12873 to 12885
- Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
- polymer transistor expanded poly(tetrafluoroethylene) PDPP4T, thermal stability charge retention vapor response
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
-
Although high-temperature operation (i.e., beyond 150°C) is of great interest for many electronics applications, achieving stable carrier mobilities for organic semiconductors at elevated temperatures is fundamentally challenging. We report a general strategy to make thermally stable high-temperature semiconducting polymer blends, composed of interpenetrating semicrystalline conjugated polymers and high glass-transition temperature insulating matrices. When properly engineered, such polymer blends display a temperature-insensitive charge transport behavior with hole mobility exceeding 2.0 cm2/V·s across a wide temperature range from room temperature up to 220°C in thin-film transistors.more » « less
-
Abstract The demand of cost‐effective fabrication of printed flexible transistors has dramatically increased in recent years due to the need for flexible interface devices for various application including e‐skins, wearables, and medical patches. In this study, electrohydrodynamic (EHD) printing processes are developed to fabricate all the components of polymer‐based organic thin film transistors (OTFTs), including source/drain and gate electrodes, semiconductor channel, and gate dielectrics, which streamline the fabrication procedure for flexible OTFTs. The flexible transistors with top‐gate‐bottom‐contact configuration are fabricated by integrating organic semiconductor (i.e., poly(3‐hexylthiophene‐2,5‐diyl) blended with small molecule 2,7‐dioctyl[1]benzothieno[3,2‐b][1]benzothiophene), conductive polymer (i.e., poly (3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate), and ion‐gel dielectric. These functional inks are carefully designed with orthogonal solvents to enable their compatible printing into multilayered flexible OTFTs. The EHD printing process of each functional component is experimentally characterized and optimized. The fully EHD‐printed OTFTs show good electrical performance with mobility of 2.86 × 10−1cm2V−1s−1and on/off ratio of 104, and great mechanical flexibility with small mobility change at bending radius of 6 mm and stable transistor response under hundreds of bending cycles. The demonstrated all printing‐based fabrication process provides a cost‐effective route toward flexible electronics with OTFTs.more » « less
-
High performance polymer dielectrics are a key component for printed electronics. In this work, organo-soluble polymers of intrinsic microporosity (PIMs) are reported for the first time to demonstrate desirable dielectric properties with a high permittivity (or κ ), heat resistance, and low dielectric loss simultaneously. Due to the highly dipolar sulfonyl side groups (4.5 D) and rigid contorted polymer backbone, a sulfonylated PIM (SO 2 -PIM) enabled friction-free rotation of sulfonyl dipoles in the nanopores. As such, an optimal balance between relatively high κ and low dielectric loss is achieved in a broad temperature window (−50–200 °C). For example, the discharged energy density reached 17 J cm −3 with κ = 6.0. The discharge efficiency was 94% at 150 °C/300 MV m −1 and 88% at 200 °C/200 MV m −1 . Furthermore, its application as a high- κ gate dielectric in field effect transistors (FETs) is demonstrated. With the bilayer SO 2 -PIM/SiO 2 gate dielectric, InSe FETs exhibited a high electron mobility in the range of 200–400 cm 2 V −1 s −1 , as compared to 40 cm 2 V −1 s −1 for the bare SiO 2 -gated InSe FET. This study indicates that highly dipolar PIMs with a rigid polymer backbone and large free volume are promising as next generation gate dielectric materials for printed electronics.more » « less
-
Abstract Despite having favorable optoelectronic and thermomechanical properties, the wide application of semiconducting polymers still suffers from limitations, particularly with regards to their processing in solution which necessitates toxic chlorinated solvents due to their intrinsic low solubility in common organic solvents. This work presents a novel greener approach to the fabrication of organic electronics without the use of toxic chlorinated solvents. Low‐molecular‐weight non‐toxic branched polyethylene (BPE) is used as a solvent to process diketopyrrolopyrrole‐based semiconducting polymers, then the solvent‐induced phase separation (SIPS) technique is adopted to produce films of semiconducting polymers from solution for the fabrication of organic field‐effect transistors (OFETs). The films of semiconducting polymers prepared from BPE using SIPS show a more porous granular morphology with preferential edge‐on crystalline orientation compared to the semiconducting polymer film processed from chloroform. OFETs based on the semiconducting films processed from BPE show similar device characteristics to those prepared from chloroform without thermal annealing, confirming the efficiency and suitability of BPE to replace traditional chlorinated solvents for green organic electronics. This new greener processing approach for semiconducting polymers is potentially compatible with different printing techniques and is particularly promising for the preparation of porous semiconducting layers and the fabrication of OFET‐based electronics.more » « less
An official website of the United States government

