Field-effect transistors fabricated from diluted magnetic semiconductor colloidal nanowires

Field-effect transistors (FETs) fabricated from undoped and Co2+-doped CdSe colloidal nanowires show typical n-channel transistor behaviour with gate effect. Exposed to microscope light, a 10 times current enhancement is observed in the doped nanowire-based devices due to the significant modification of the electronic structure of CdSe nanowires induced by Co2+-doping, which is revealed by theoretical calculations from spin-polarized plane-wave density functional theory.

Field-effect transistors based on self-organized molecular nanostripes

Charge transport properties in organic semiconductors depend strongly on molecular order. Here we demonstrate field-effect transistors where drain current flows through a precisely defined array of nanostripes made of crystalline and highly ordered molecules. The molecular stripes are fabricated across the channel of the transistor by a stamp-assisted deposition of the molecular semiconductors from a solution. As the solvent evaporates, the capillary forces drive the solution to form menisci under the stamp protrusions. The solute precipitates only in the regions where the solution is confined by the menisci once the critical concentration is reached and self-organizes into molecularly ordered stripes 100-200 nm wide and a few monolayers high. The charge mobility measured along the stripes is 2 orders of magnitude larger than the values measured for spin-coated thin films.

Band gap tunable N-type molecules for organic field effect transistors

A series of four novel n-type molecules has been synthesized. Unlike previous approaches, the end group of these molecules was fixed and the molecular core was varied. The resulting materials were thoroughly analyzed. Electronic properties were derived from photoemission spectroscopy, optical properties were derived with the help of optical spectroscopy, and the structure of thin films on Au(111) was derived by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). In addition, prototypical organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) (forming n-channels in OFETs) have been fabricated and tested. The correlation between the device performance of the respective OFETs (i.e., electron mobility) and their electronic as well as structural properties was investigated. It turned out that a combination of beneficial electronic and structural properties provides the best results. These findings are important for the design of new materials for future device applications.

Charge carrier velocity distributions in high mobility polymer field-effect transistors

In this letter, the velocity distributions of charge carriers in high-mobility polymer thin-film transistors (TFTs) with a diketopyrrolopyrrole- naphthalene copolymer (PDPP-TNT) semiconductor active layer are reported. The velocity distributions are found to be strongly dependent on measurement temperatures as well as annealing conditions. Considerable inhomogeneity is evident at low measurement temperatures and for low annealing temperatures. Such transient transport measurements can provide additional information about charge carrier transport in TFTs which are unavailable using steady-state transport measurements.

Solution-processed dual-gate polymer field-effect transistors for display applications

We describe the advantages of dual-gate thin-film transistors (TFTs) for display applications. We show that in TFTs with active semiconductor layers composed of diketopyrrolopyrrole-naphthalene copolymer, the on-current is increased, the off-current is reduced, and the sub-threshold swing is improved compared to single-gate devices. Charge transport measurements in steady-state and under non-quasi-static conditions reveal the reasons for this improved performance. We show that in dual-gate devices, a much smaller fraction of charge carriers move in slow trap states. We also compare the activation energies for charge transport in the top-gate and bottom-gate configurations.

Characteristics of high-performance ambipolar organic field-effect transistors based on a diketopyrrolopyrrole-benzothiadiazole copolymer

In this paper, we report the device characteristics of ambipolar thin-film transistors (TFTs) based on a diketopyrrolopyrrole-benzothiadiazole copolymer. This polymer semiconductor exhibits the largest comparable electron and hole mobility values in a single organic semiconductor. The key to realizing such high mobility values, which are $0.5&cm}{2}/\hbox{V}̇\hbox{s, is molecular design, i.e., the use of suitable surface treatments of the source/drain contact electrodes and device architectures, particularly top-gate configurations. The subthreshold characteristics of the TFT devices are greatly improved by the use of dual-gate device geometry. We also report the first measurement of the velocity distribution of electron and hole velocities in an ambipolar organic semiconductor.

A fluorenone based low band gap solution processable copolymer for air stable and high mobility organic field effect transistors

A fluorenone based alternating copolymer (PFN-DPPF) with a furan based fused aromatic moiety has been designed and synthesized. PFN-DPPF exhibits a small band gap with a lower HOMO value. Testing this polymer semiconductor as the active layer in organic thin-film transistors results in hole mobilities as high as 0.15 cm2 V-1 s-1 in air.

Isoindigo dye incorporated copolymers with naphthalene and anthracene: promising materials for stable organic field effect transistors

In this paper, we report the design and synthesis of isoindigo based low band gap polymer semiconductors, poly{N,N′-(2-octyldodecyl)-isoindigo-alt- naphthalene} (PISD-NAP) and poly{N,N′-(2-octyldodecyl)-isoindigo-alt- anthracene} (PISD-ANT). A series of donor-acceptor (D-A) copolymers can be prepared where donor and acceptor conjugated blocks can be attached alternately using organometallic coupling. In these polymers, an isoindigo dye acceptor moiety has been attached alternately with naphthalene and anthracene donor comonomer blocks by Suzuki coupling. PISD-NAP and PISD-ANT exhibit excellent solution processibility and good film-forming properties. Gel permeation chromatography exhibits a higher molecular mass with lower polydispersity. UV-vis-NIR absorption of these polymers exhibits a wide absorption band ranging from 300 nm to 800 nm, indicating the low band gap nature of the polymers. Optical band gaps calculated from the solid state absorption cutoff value for PISD-NAP and PISD-ANT are around 1.80 eV and 1.75 eV, respectively. Highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) values calculated respectively for PISD-NAP and PISD-ANT thin films on glass substrate by photoelectron spectroscopy in air (PESA) are 5.66 eV and 5.53 eV, indicative of the good stability of these materials in organic electronic device applications. These polymers exhibit p-channel charge transport characteristics when used as the active semiconductor in organic thin-film transistor (OTFT) devices in ambient conditions. The highest hole mobility of 0.013 cm2 V-1 s-1 is achieved in top contact and bottom-gate OTFT devices for PISD-ANT, whereas polymer PISD-NAP exhibited a hole mobility of 0.004 cm2 V -1 s-1. When these polymer semiconductors were used as a donor and PC71BM as an acceptor in OPV devices, the highest power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 1.13% is obtained for the PISD-ANT polymer.

Thiophene–tetrafluorophenyl–thiophene : a promising building block for ambipolar organic field effect transistors

A thiophene–tetrafluorophenyl–thiophene donor–acceptor–donor building block was used in combination with a furan-substituted diketopyrrolopyrrole for synthesizing the polymer semiconductor, PDPPF-TFPT. Due to the balance of tetrafluorophenylene/diketopyrrolopyrrole electron-withdrawing and furan/thiophene electron-donating moieties in the backbone, PDPPF-TFPT exhibits ambipolar behaviour in organic thin-film transistors, with hole and electron mobilities as high as 0.40 cm2 V−1 s−1 and 0.12 cm2 V−1 s−1.

Efficient and bright polymer light emitting field effect transistors

Light emitting field effect transistors (LEFETs) are emerging as a multi-functional class of optoelectronic devices. LEFETs can simultaneously execute light emission and the standard logic functions of a transistor in a single architecture. However, current LEFET architectures deliver either high brightness or high efficiency but not both concurrently, thus limiting their use in technological applications. Here we show an LEFET device strategy that simultaneously improves brightness and efficiency. The key step change in LEFET performance arises from the bottom gate top-contact device architecture in which the source/drain electrodes are semitransparent and the active channel contains a bi-layer comprising of a high mobility charge-transporting polymer, and a yellow-green emissive polymer. A record external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 2.1% at 1000cd/m2 is demonstrated for polymer based bilayer LEFETs.

Influence of Band Non-Parabolicity on Few Ballistic Properties of III-V Quantum Wire Field Effect Transistors Under Strong Inversion

A simplified yet analytical approach on few ballistic properties of III-V quantum wire transistor has been presented by considering the band non-parabolicity of the electrons in accordance with Kane's energy band model using the Bohr-Sommerfeld's technique. The confinement of the electrons in the vertical and lateral directions are modeled by an infinite triangular and square well potentials respectively, giving rise to a two dimensional electron confinement. It has been shown that the quantum gate capacitance, the drain currents and the channel conductance in such systems are oscillatory functions of the applied gate and drain voltages at the strong inversion regime. The formation of subbands due to the electrical and structural quantization leads to the discreetness in the characteristics of such 1D ballistic transistors. A comparison has also been sought out between the self-consistent solution of the Poisson's-Schrodinger's equations using numerical techniques and analytical results using Bohr-Sommerfeld's method. The results as derived in this paper for all the energy band models gets simplified to the well known results under certain limiting conditions which forms the mathematical compatibility of our generalized theoretical formalism.

Characteristics of field-effect transistors based on undoped and B-and N-doped few-layer graphenes

Field-effect transistor characteristics of few-layer graphenes prepared by several methods have been investigated in comparison with those of single-layer graphene prepared by the in situ reduction of single-layer graphene oxide. Ambipolar features have been observed with single-layer graphene and n-type behaviour with all the few-layer graphenes, the best characteristics being found with the graphene possessing 2-3 layers prepared by arc-discharge of graphite in hydrogen. FETs based on boron and nitrogen doped graphene show n-type and p-type behaviour respectively. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Estimation Of Charge Transport Parameters And Equivalent Circuit For Poly Alkyl Thiophene Field-Effect Transistors

The small signal ac response is measured across the source-drain terminals of organic field-effect transistors (OFET) under dc bias to obtain the equivalent circuit parameters of poly(2,5-bis(3-tetradecylthiophen-2-yl)thieno[3,2-b]thiophene) (PBTTT) and poly(3-hexyl thiophene) (P3HT) based devices. The numerically simulated response based on these parameters is in good agreement with the experimental data for PBTTT-FET except at low frequencies, while the P3HT-FET data show significant deviations. This indicates that the interface with the metal electrode is rather complex for the latter, involving additional circuit elements arising from contact impedance or charge injection processes. Such an investigation can help in identifying the operational bottlenecks and to improve the performance of OFETs.

Probing Single and Bilayer Graphene Field Effect Transistors By Raman Spectroscopy

This article is a review of our work related to Raman studies of single layer and bilayer graphenes as a function Fermi level shift achieved by electrochemically top gating a field effect transistor. Combining the transport and in situ Raman studies of the field effect devices, a quantitative understanding is obtained of the phonon renormalization due to doping of graphene. Results are discussed in the light of time dependent perturbation theory, with electron phonon coupling parameter as an input from the density functional theory. It is seen that phonons near and Gamma and K points of the Brillouin zone are renormalized very differently by doping. Further, Gamma-phonon renormalization is different in bilayer graphene as compared to single layer, originating from their different electronic band structures near the zone boundary K-point. Thus Raman spectroscopy is not only a powerful probe to characterize the number of layers and their quality in a graphene sample, but also to quantitatively evaluate electron phonon coupling required to understand the performance of graphene devices.

High On-Off Ratio Bilayer Graphene Complementary Field Effect Transistors

In this paper, we propose a novel S/D engineering for dual-gated Bilayer Graphene (BLG) Field Effect Transistor (FET) using doped semiconductors (with a bandgap) as source and drain to obtain unipolar complementary transistors. To simulate the device, a self-consistent Non-Equilibrium Green's Function (NEGF) solver has been developed and validated against published experimental data. Using the simulator, we predict an on-off ratio in excess of 10(4) and a subthreshold slope of similar to 110mV/decade with excellent scalability and current saturation, for a 20nm gate length unipolar BLG FET. However, the performance of the proposed device is found to be strongly dependent on the S/D series resistance effect. The obtained results show significant improvements over existing reports, marking an important step towards bilayer graphene logic devices.