Direct writing of inkjet-printed short channel organic thin film transistors

Abstract

Abstract A direct-writing fabrication process for fully inkjet-printed short-channel organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) has been developed. Channels as narrow as 800 nm between two printed Ag electrodes were achieved by printing a special Ag ink on an SU-8 interlayer, which can be partially dissolved by the solvents used in the Ag ink. The ridge formed along the printed Ag line edges due to redistribution of the interlayer material during the drying process limits the ink spread, and separates neighboring printed lines, and is the key to defining an ultra-narrow channel for transistor fabrication. The short-channel OTFTs fabricated using this technique have demonstrated well-defined linear and saturation regimes. An extracted mobility of 0.27 cm 2 /Vs with an on/off ratio of 10 5 was obtained at a driving voltage of −12 V. The excellent performance of these devices demonstrates the potential of this technique in fabrication of short-channel devices using standard printing technologies.