Temperature effects on the electrical properties of ambipolar organic complementary-like inverters

Abstract

Abstract Efficient and balanced pentacene-based ambipolar organic thin-film transistors (AmOTFTs) were prepared and ready for use to achieve simple fabrication of complementary-like inverters with high gains. We examined the effect of temperature on the electrical characteristics of pentacene-based AmOTFTs and corresponding complementary-like inverters. Such complementary-like inverters can perform nonpolar operations, such as first and third quadrant operations, and can work normally up to nearly 110 °C. In situ measurements demonstrated the excellent thermal stability of pentacene active layer at the corresponding temperatures. The operating principle of the ambipolar-based complementary-like inverters was also discussed. Given the ambipolar nature of pentacene active channel, the dual-carrier recombination and release processes governed the temperature-dependent switch behaviors of the inverters. A temperature-dependent linearity function was derived using the hysteresis switch voltage, thereby highlighting that pentacene-based ambipolar complementary-like inverters could potentially be employed in temperature sensors.