Do Kyung Hwang

Improving the Gate Stability of ZnO Thin-Film Transistors with Aluminum Oxide Dielectric Layers

We report on the fabrication of gate-stable ZnO thin-film transistors (TFTs) with aluminum oxide dielectric. When an off-stoichiometric AlO x was deposited at room temperature, the ZnO-TFT revealed unreliable transfer characteristics: a large drain current-gate bias (I D -V G ) hysteresis and a large amount of threshold voltage (V T ) shift under gate-bias stress. As rapid thermal annealing (RTA) in O 2 ambient was applied onto AIO X at 300°C prior to ZnO channel deposition, the gate-bias reliability of the ZnO device was improved. The RTA might cause our AlO x surface to be more stoichiometric and thus to be resistant against ZnO sputter-induced damage. When the bottom-gate ZnO-TFT was fabricated with a stoichiometric Al 2 O 3 dielectric grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD), our device showed much more stable electrical characteristics than with the sputter-deposited off-stoichiometric AlO x . Last, as an ultimate effort to improve the gate reliability, we fabricated a top-gate ZnO-TFT device adopting the same thick ALD-grown stoichiometric Al 2 O 3 as in the bottom-gate device. Our top-gate device with the Al 2 O 3 dielectric then showed no hysteresis and no V T shift after several times of gate bias sweep. We conclude that both the high quality dielectric and optimized device structure are necessary to realize electrically stable ZnO-TFTs.

Few-Layer Black Phosphorus Field-Effect Transistors with Reduced Current Fluctuation

We investigated the reduction of current fluctuations in few-layer black phosphorus (BP) field-effect transistors resulting from Al2O3 passivation. In order to verify the effect of Al2O3 passivation on device characteristics, measurements and analyses were conducted on thermally annealed devices before and after the passivation. More specifically, static and low-frequency noise analyses were used in monitoring the charge transport characteristics in the devices. The carrier number fluctuation (CNF) model, which is related to the charge trapping/detrapping process near the interface between the channel and gate dielectric, was employed to describe the current fluctuation phenomena. Noise reduction due to the Al2O3 passivation was expressed in terms of the reduced interface trap density values D(it) and N(it), extracted from the subthreshold slope (SS) and the CNF model, respectively. The deviations between the interface trap density values extracted using the SS value and CNF model are elucidated in terms of the role of the Schottky barrier between the few-layer BP and metal contact. Furthermore, the preservation of the Al2O3-passivated few-layer BP flakes in ambient air for two months was confirmed by identical Raman spectra.

Top-gate organic field-effect transistors with high environmental and operational stability.

Over the past several years, great progress has been made in the development of organic fi eld-effect transistors (OFETs). Prototypes of electronic devices such as drivers for fl at-panel displays, [ 1 ] complementary circuits, [ 2 , 3 ] radio-frequency identifi cation tags, [ 4 ] and chemical or biological sensors [ 5 , 6 ] have already been demonstrated. While charge-carrier mobility values have improved [ 2 , 3 , 7–9 ] with comparable values for both n and p -channel transistors, long-term environmental and operational stability remain two major issues that need to be resolved before OFETs can realize their full commercial potential. Recently, much effort has been devoted to improve the stability of OFETs. [ 10–18 ] For instance, to improve the environmental stability of OFETs, air-stable organic semiconductors have been synthesized [ 10 , 11 ] or encapsulation layers have been developed. [ 12 , 13 ] On the other hand, achieving operational stability is still a major challenge faced by OFETs as well as other fi eld-effect transistor (FET) technologies, such as those based on a -Si:H, poly-Si, and metal-oxide semiconductors. The operational stability of a FET is in general related to dipolar orientation and charge trapping/de-trapping events at all its critical interfaces and in the bulk of the semiconductor and gate dielectric. [ 14–18 ] The degradation of the performance of a FET during operation is refl ected by changes of its current-voltage characteristics that result from changes of mobility ( μ ), of threshold voltage ( V th ), or variations of the capacitance density ( C in ) of the gate dielectric. The dynamics of the physical and/or chemical mechanisms producing these changes, intrinsic or extrinsic, affect the performance of a FET on different time scales. [ 14 ] The stability of a FET is determined by the total effects produced by several physical and/or chemical processes, but in general, one tends to dominate over the others. This has caused current approaches to improve the stability to focus on mitigating individual processes. [ 15–18 ] Furthermore, the stability of OFETs has been primarily evaluated in devices with a bottom-gate geometry. OFETs with a top-gate geometry are relatively rare because the choice of gate dielectric material is limited since its deposition can potentially damage the organic semiconductor layer underneath. The use of an amorphous fl uoropolymer, CYTOP,

Stable Solution‐Processed Molecular n‐Channel Organic Field‐Effect Transistors

A new solution-processable small-molecule containing electron-poor naphthalene diimide and tetrazine moieties has been synthesized. The optimized spin-coated n-channel OFETs on glass substrate shows electron mobility value up to 0.15 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) . Inkjet-printed OFETs are fabricated in ambient atmosphere on flexible plastic substrates, which exhibits an electron mobility value up to 0.17 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) and also shows excellent environmental and operational stability.

Black Phosphorus–Zinc Oxide Nanomaterial Heterojunction for p–n Diode and Junction Field-Effect Transistor

Black phosphorus (BP) nanosheet is two-dimensional (2D) semiconductor with distinct band gap and attracting recent attention from researches because it has some similarity to gapless 2D semiconductor graphene in the following two aspects: single element (P) for its composition and quite high mobilities depending on its fabrication conditions. Apart from several electronic applications reported with BP nanosheet, here we report for the first time BP nanosheet-ZnO nanowire 2D-1D heterojunction applications for p-n diodes and BP-gated junction field effect transistors (JFETs) with n-ZnO channel on glass. For these nanodevices, we take advantages of the mechanical flexibility of p-type conducting of BP and van der Waals junction interface between BP and ZnO. As a result, our BP-ZnO nanodimension p-n diode displays a high ON/OFF ratio of ∼10(4) in static rectification and shows kilohertz dynamic rectification as well while ZnO nanowire channel JFET operations are nicely demonstrated by BP gate switching in both electrostatics and kilohertz dynamics.

Inverted Quantum Dot Light Emitting Diodes using Polyethylenimine ethoxylated modified ZnO

Colloidal quantum dots (QDs) are an emerging class of new materials due to their unique physical properties. In particular, colloidal QD based light emitting diodes (QDLEDs) have been extensively studied and developed for the next generation displays and solid-state lighting. Among a number of approaches to improve performance of the QDLEDs, the most practical one is optimization of charge transport and charge balance in the recombination region. Here, we suggest a polyethylenimine ethoxylated (PEIE) modified ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) as electron injection and transport layer for inverted structure red CdSe-ZnS based QDLED. The PEIE surface modifier, incorporated on the top of the ZnO NPs film, facilitates the enhancement of both electron injection into the CdSe-ZnS QD emissive layer by lowering the workfunction of ZnO from 3.58 eV to 2.87 eV and charge balance on the QD emitter. As a result, this device exhibits a low turn-on voltage of 2.0–2.5 V and has maximum luminance and current efficiency values of 8600 cd/m2 and current efficiency of 1.53 cd/A, respectively. The same scheme with ZnO NPs/PEIE layer has also been used to successfully fabricate green, blue, and white QDLEDs.

Solvent and polymer matrix effects on TIPS-pentacene/polymer blend organic field-effect transistors

We report on a systematic study of solvent and polymer matrix effects on the phase segregation behavior of 6,13-bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl) pentacene (TIPS-pentacene) blends incorporated into two different amorphous polymer matrices, poly (α-methyl styrene) and poly (triarylamine), and using two solvents, chlorobenzene and tetralin. Optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction analyses, and optical absorption measurements are used to evaluate the film morphology, crystallinity, and optical density, respectively. These analyses are correlated with the extent of vertical segregation of TIPS-pentacene, as observed for the blended films by depth-profile XPS analyses. The microstructure and vertical phase segregation of TIPS-pentacene in blend films are found to be strongly influenced by the choice of solvent. Tetralin, a solvent with a high boiling temperature, was found to be more desirable for achieving distinct phase segregation/crystallization of TIPS-pentacene in blend films and best performance in OFETs with a dual-gate geometry. The electrical properties of top and bottom channels were consistent with the morphological characterization and OFETs processed from tetralin showed higher mobility values than those from chlorobenzene. Further modification of the annealing conditions in the TIPS-pentacene/PTAA/tetralin ternary system led to top-gate OFETs with mobility values up to 2.82 cm2/Vs.

Stannyl Derivatives of Naphthalene Diimides and Their Use in Oligomer Synthesis

2-Stannyl and 2,6-distannyl naphthalene diimides (NDIs) can be synthesized through the palladium-catalyzed reaction of the appropriate bromo derivatives with hexabutylditin. The utility of these precursors in palladium catalyzed cross-coupling reactions is demonstrated by the synthesis of bi- and ter-NDI derivatives, UV-vis, cyclic voltammetry, and n-channel organic field-effect transistor data for which are compared to those of the monomeric parent NDI.

Enhanced Light Scattering and Trapping Effect of Ag Nanowire Mesh Electrode for High Efficient Flexible Organic Solar Cell

Ag nanowire (NW) mesh is used as transparent conducting electrode for high efficient flexible organic solar cells (OSCs). The Ag NW mesh electrode facilitates light scattering and trapping, allowing enhancement of light absorption in the active layer. OSCs incorporating Ag NW mesh electrode exhibit maximum power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 4.47%, 25%, higher than that of OSCs with a conventional ITO electrode (3.63%).

Nonvolatile Ferroelectric Memory Circuit Using Black Phosphorus Nanosheet-Based Field-Effect Transistors with P(VDF-TrFE) Polymer.

Two-dimensional van der Waals (2D vdWs) materials are a class of new materials that can provide important resources for future electronics and materials sciences due to their unique physical properties. Among 2D vdWs materials, black phosphorus (BP) has exhibited significant potential for use in electronic and optoelectronic applications because of its allotropic properties, high mobility, and direct and narrow band gap. Here, we demonstrate a few-layered BP-based nonvolatile memory transistor with a poly(vinylidenefluoride-trifluoroethylene) (P(VDF-TrFE)) ferroelectric top gate insulator. Experiments showed that our BP-based ferroelectric transistors operate satisfactorily at room temperature in ambient air and exhibit a clear memory window. Unlike conventional ambipolar BP transistors, our ferroelectric transistors showed only p-type characteristics due to the carbon-fluorine (C-F) dipole effect of the P(VDF-TrFE) layer, as well as the highest linear mobility value of 1159 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) with a 10(3) on/off current ratio. For more advanced memory applications beyond unit memory devices, we implemented two memory inverter circuits, a resistive-load inverter circuit and a complementary inverter circuit, combined with an n-type molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) nanosheet. Our memory inverter circuits displayed a clear memory window of 15 V and memory output voltage efficiency of 95%.