Thin-Film Organic Polymer Phototransistors

Abstract

We have studied the electrical performance of organic polymer thin-film transistors (OP-TFTs) under steady-state white-light illumination, as well as the performance of these devices as photodetectors. The off-state drain current of the OP-TFT is significantly increased due to the illumination, while a smaller relative effect is observed on the drain current in the strong-accumulation regime. The illumination effectively decreases the threshold voltage of the device and increases the apparent subthreshold swing, while the field-effect mobility of the charge carriers in the polymer channel is unchanged. We have observed full recovery of our devices after the illumination is removed at room temperature. These observations are explained in terms of the photogeneration of excitons due to the absorbed photons. The photogenerated excitons subsequently diffuse and dissociate into free charge carriers, thereby enhancing the carrier density in the channel of the device. We have found broadband responsivities of approximately 0.7 mA/W for devices biased in the strong-accumulation regime and gate-to-source voltage-independent photosensitivities of approximately 10/sup 3/ for devices in the off-state. We also determine, for the first time, the flatband voltage of these devices to be about -2.3 V.