Nonquasi-Static Capacitance Modeling and Characterization for Printed Inorganic Electrolyte-Gated Transistors in Logic Gates

Abstract

Printed electronics can benefit from the deployment of electrolytes as gate insulators, which enables a high gate capacitance per unit area (1– $10\,\,\mu \text {F}\,\text {cm}^{-2}$ ) due to the formation of electrical double layers (EDLs). Consequently, electrolyte-gated field-effect transistors (EGFETs) attain high-charge carrier densities already in the subvoltage regime, allowing for low-voltage operation of circuits and systems. This article presents a systematic study of lumped terminal capacitances of printed electrolyte-gated transistors under various dc bias conditions. We perform voltage-dependent impedance measurements and separate extrinsic components from the lumped terminal capacitance. The proposed Meyer-like capacitance model, which also accounts for the nonquasi-static (NQS) effect, agrees well with experimental data. Finally, to verify the model, we implement it in Verilog-A and simulate the transient response of an inverter and a ring oscillator circuit. Simulation results are in good agreement with the measurement data of fabricated devices.