Abstract
Today, more disciplines are intercepting each other, giving rise to “cross-disciplinary” research. Technological advancements in material science and device structure and production have paved the way towards development of new classes of multi-purpose sensory devices. Organic phototransistors (OPTs) are photo-activated sensors based on organic field-effect transistors that convert incident light signals into electrical signals. The organic semiconductor (OSC) layer and three-electrode structure of an OPT offer great advantages for light detection compared to conventional photodetectors and photodiodes, due to their signal amplification and noise reduction characteristics. Solution processing of the active layer enables mass production of OPT devices at significantly reduced cost. The chemical structure of OSCs can be modified accordingly to fulfil detection at various wavelengths for different purposes. Organic phototransistors have attracted substantial interest in a variety of fields, namely biomedical, medical diagnostics, healthcare, energy, security, and environmental monitoring. Lightweight and mechanically flexible and wearable OPTs are suitable alternatives not only at clinical levels but also for point-of-care and home-assisted usage. In this review, we aim to explain different types, working mechanism and figures of merit of organic phototransistors and highlight the recent advances from the literature on development and implementation of OPTs for a broad range of research and real-life applications.
Highlights
A phototransistor (PT) is a type of photodetector that converts an incident light signal into a detectable electrical signal
Technological and scientific needs lead to inventing new means of optoelectronic devices, in particular, those based on field-effect transistor (FET) [2,5,6,7,8]
organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) play a crucial role in optoelectronic research due to their organic active layer, three-electrode device structure, signal amplifying properties, low noise medium and low voltage operation depending on the dielectric type
Summary
A phototransistor (PT) is a type of photodetector that converts an incident light signal into a detectable electrical signal. Si-based PTs are insufficient to be used in NIR [2] These traditional inorganic semiconductors are not promising materials for wearable, flexible phototransistors in home-assisted or clinical sensor applications due to their rigid structure, and their high-cost production conditions are not suitable for costeffective, high throughput technologies [4,7,15,16]. OFETs play a crucial role in optoelectronic research due to their organic active layer, three-electrode device structure, signal amplifying properties, low noise medium and low voltage operation depending on the dielectric type. This explains why the long-wavelength range (600–1600 nm) of the NIR and SWIR (short wave infrared light) light detection is used in OPTs for medical and biomedical studies [5,6,15,16,37]. We conclude this review by giving examples of application of OPT-based sensors
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