Determining the influence of ferroelectric polarization on electrical characteristics in organic ferroelectric field-effect transistors**Project supported by the National Key Technologies R&D Program, China (Grant No. 2009ZX02302-002), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 61376108, 61076076, and 61076068), NSAF, China (Grant No. U1430106), the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality, China (Grant No. 13NM1400600), and Zhuo Xue Plan

Abstract

Organic ferroelectric field-effect transistors (OFeFETs) are regarded as a promising technology for low-cost flexible memories. However, the electrical instability is still a critical obstacle, which limits the commercialization process. Based on already established models for polarization in ferroelectrics and charge transport in OFeFETs, simulation work is performed to determine the influence of polarization fatigue and ferroelectric switching transient on electrical characteristics in OFeFETs. The polarization fatigue results in the decrease of the on-state drain current and the memory window width and thus degrades the memory performance. The output measurements during the ferroelectric switching process show a hysteresis due to the instable polarization. In the on/off measurements, a large writing/erasing pulse frequency weakens the polarization modulation and thus results in a small separation between on- and off-state drain currents. According to the electrical properties of the ferroelectric layer, suggestions are given to obtain optimal electrical characterization for OFeFETs.