Thin-film transistors based on organic conjugated semiconductors

Abstract

The use of organic semiconductors as active layers in thin-film transistors has raised in the recent years a large interest, both for the fundamental understanding of the charge transport processes in organic materials, and also for the potential applications of these devices in the new field of flexible electronics. Short conjugated oligomers have been shown to possess much higher field-effect mobilities than their parent conjugated polymers. The origin of such increase in the efficiency of charge transport is mainly attributed to the close-packing and long-range structural organization displayed in thin films of conjugated oligomers. The various routes for controlling this organization are described, which allow to realize liquid crystal-like two-dimensional structures for these semiconductors, whose carrier mobility has now become equivalent to that of amorphous silicon. It is also shown that the effect of conjugation length on carrier mobility is not as critical as previously thought, but the associated increase of the band gap energy effects the efficiency of charge injection at the metal/semiconductor interface. This problem can be answered by realizing a local doping of the semiconductor, which allows the injection of charge to operate through an efficient tunneling mechanism. Organic-based thin-film transistors have now become viable devices.