All-polymer phototransistors with bulk heterojunction sensing layers of thiophene-based electron-donating and thienopyrroledione-based electron-accepting polymers

Abstract

All-polymer phototransistors consisting of bulk heterojunction (BHJ) nanolayers of electron-donating (p-type) and electron-accepting (n-type) polymers are attractive candidates for applications such as light-sensing and light-switching devices. Here, we report efficient green-light-sensing all-polymer phototransistors based on BHJ layers of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and poly[(4,8-bis(2-ethylhexyloxy)-benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b]-dithiophene)-2,6-diyl-alt-(N-2-ethylhexylthieno[3,4-c]pyrrole-4,6-dione)-2,6-diyl]] (PBDTTPD) polymers. To understand the phototransistor characteristics, all devices were exposed to a green monochromatic light (555 nm) with different incident power intensities. The results showed that the P3HT:PBDTTPD (80:20) layer are more advantageous than the pristine P3HT layers in terms of efficient charge separation and transport. The responsivity value of devices with the P3HT:PBDTTPD (80:20) layers reached 33.3 A/W, which is 25 and 28 times higher than those obtained with pristine the pristine P3HT or P3HT:PBDTTPD (60:40) layers. The enhanced device performance of the P3HT:PBDTTPD (80:20) phototransistors is attributable to an efficient charge separation, prevalent edge-on chain orientation, and relatively smoother surface morphology, which might facilitate improved charge transport in the lateral direction.