Flexible Organic Electrochemical Transistor Based on Conjugated Conducting Polymers

Abstract

— The use of organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) based on conjugated polymers has gained significant recognition owing to their impressive performance, flexibility, ease of fabrication, and suitability for specific applications where solid-state transistors may not be efficiently employed. Key advantages of OECT technology, such as simple device architecture, robustness in ambient or aqueous environments, straightforward additive manufacturing processes, low operational voltage, and compatibility with flexible, rough, stretchable, and large-area substrates, underscore its significance in various applications. These applications span the sensing of glucose [1], bacteria [2], dopamine [3], DNA [4], lactate [5], cell activities [6], and electrophysiological signals [7]. Notably, the absence of the necessity for a reference electrode, a crucial feature for wearable and textile sensors compared to three electrode-based electrochemical sensors, stands out. In this context, we have fabricated a side-gated OECT on a flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate through a scalable screen-printing process where the source, drain, and gate terminals are screen-printed using silver (Ag) conductive ink. The semiconducting channel material employed is polyethylene dioxythiophene: polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT: PSS), which is spin-coated. Additionally, poly methyl methacrylate (PMMA) has been spin-coated to serve as the dielectric. The OECT operates by volumetric gating of the channel through a gel electrolyte containing poly sodium 4-styrene sulfonate (PSSna), enabling polarization of the gate and channel to induce charge accumulation or depletion, driven by the application of a gate-source voltage. The OECT device structure demonstrated switching from the "ON" to "OFF” state with the application of a positive gate voltage, indicating its functionality as a p-type depletion mode transistor. Additionally, the OECT displayed a transconductance (gm) of 6.25×10-4 A/V, mobility (µ) of 1.242×1010 cm2 /Vs, and a threshold voltage (Vth) of -0.39 V, with the on/off ratio being relatively low at 7.22. The repeatability was confirmed through the fabrication of three devices that exhibited nearly identical behavior. Furthermore, in pursuit of faster response time, lower operating voltage, and miniaturization, additional work involves downscaling the active area length to 100µm from the reported 4mm active area length. The fabrication method not only holds the capability for large-scale production with a high yield in a cost-effective manner but also opens up possibilities for applications requiring swift design changes and digitally enabled direct-write techniques. Future work emphasizes functionalizing the electrolyte used in OECT to detect biomolecules such as glucose, pH, and ion species. Thus, this research underscores the potential usability of fabricated OECTs in various high-performance chemical and biological sensing applications. REFERENCES Tang, H.; Yan, F.; Lin, P.; Xu, J.; Chan, H.L.W. Highly Sensitive Glucose Biosensors Based on OrganicElectrochemical Transistors Using Platinum Gate Electrodes Modified with Enzyme and Nanomaterials.Adv. Funct. Mater. 2011, 21, 2264–2272. [CrossRef]He, R.-X.; Zhang, M.; Tan, F.; Leung, P.H.M.; Zhao, X.-Z.; Chan, H.L.W.; Yang, M.; Yan, F. Detection of bacteria with organic electrochemical transistors. J. Mater. Chem. 2012, 22, 22072–22076. [CrossRef]Gualandi, I.; Tonelli, D.; Mariani, F.; Scavetta, E.; Marzocchi, M.; Fraboni, B. Selective detection of dopamine with an all PEDOT:PSS Organic Electrochemical Transistor. Sci. Rep. 2016, 6, 35419. [CrossRef]Tao, W.; Lin, P.; Hu, J.; Ke, S.; Song, J.; Zeng, X. A sensitive DNA sensor based on an organic electrochemical transistor using a peptide nucleic acid-modified nanoporous gold gate electrode. RSC Adv. 2017, 7, 52118–52124. [CrossRef]Braendlein, M.; Pappa, A.-M.; Ferro, M.; Lopresti, A.; Acquaviva, C.; Mamessier, E.; Malliaras, G.G. Owens, R.M. Lactate Detection in Tumor Cell Cultures Using Organic Transistor Circuits. Adv. Mater. 2017, 1605744.Lin, P.; Yan, F.; Yu, J.; Chan, H.L.W.; Yang, M. The Application of Organic Electrochemical Transistors in Cell-Based Biosensors. Adv. Mater. 2010, 22, 3655–3660Liang, Y.; Ernst, M.; Brings, F.; Kireev, D.; Maybeck, V.; Offenhäusser, A.; Mayer, D. High Performance Flexible Organic Electrochemical Transistors for Monitoring Cardiac Action Potential. Adv. Healthc. Mater. 2018, 1800304. [CrossRef] Figure 1