Ambipolar carrier transport in an optically controllable diarylethene thin film transistor

Abstract

Abstract Ambipolar carrier transport is demonstrated in an optically controllable organic field-effect transistor, where a benzothienothiophene-substituted diarylethene (BTT-DAE) thin film is employed directly as the transistor channel. A closed-ring isomer, which is produced by ultraviolet (UV) light irradiation, allows the carrier injection of both holes and electrons from source-drain electrodes into the BTT-DAE layer. Moreover, alternate UV or visible (VIS) light irradiation induces marked switching in the drain currents caused by reversible photoisomerization between closed-ring (semiconductor) and open-ring (insulator) isomers. The light-driven on/off ratio, which is defined by the ratio of the drain currents in the sample after UV or VIS light irradiation, reaches 240 for hole transport. The value is comparable to the gate-voltage-induced on/off ratio of 160. Our findings, therefore, have a potential to lead to the construction of new optoelectronic devices such as photoreconfigurable logic circuits and light emitting transistors.