Fu Ching Tang

Effect of surface free energy in gate dielectric in pentacene thin-film transistors

The surface free energy of a dielectric has a strong influence on the performance of pentacene thin-film transistors. Research shows that by matching surface free energy in the interface of the dielectric and the orthorhombic thin-film phase of pentacene film, the field-effect mobility of transistors is enhanced reaching above 2.0cm2∕Vs. The authors suggested that a more complete first monolayer of pentacene was formed upon the gate dielectric surface with almost identical surface free energy, benefiting carrier transportation. The research also discusses the mechanism of surface free energy effects on the crystalline size and structural disorder in pentacene film.

Electric field-induced structural changes in pentacene-based organic thin-film transistors studied by in situ micro-Raman spectroscopy

We have investigated the electric field-induced microscopic structural changes in polycrystalline pentacene-based organic transistors by using in situ micro-Raman spectroscopy. Extra vibrational modes resulting from molecular coupling effect in pentacene film were studied. The herringbone packing of pentacene molecules in solid film is affected by external field and the process is proven to be partially irreversible. In the meantime, in-phase coupling of the C-H bending mode was found to be highly related to the carrier transport of pentacene film. Obtained results suggest that optimal intermolecular π-orbital overlap of pentacene molecules is still a critical factor impacting the carrier transportation for pentacene film featuring polycrystalline morphology.

Nanoimprinting-induced efficiency enhancement in organic solar cells

The performance of bilayer heterojunction, pentacene and perylene tetracarboxylic diimide organic solar cells (OSC) is dramatically enhanced by performing nanoimprinting on the hole transport layer in which poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) nanogratings are built. A standard OSC embeded with PEDOT:PSS gratings enables photocarriers to move toward electrodes. In particular, the visualization of morphologies for these heterojunction layers reveals pillar-like grains that are induced by the geometric effect of PEDOT:PSS gratings. Toghther with analyzing absorption and time-resolved photoluminescence spectra, a consistent correlation between OSC performance, photophysical data, and pillar-like morphology has been obtained for the device with imprinted PEDOT:PSS nanogratings.

Electron transport properties in fluorinated copper–phthalocyanine films: importance of vibrational reorganization energy and molecular microstructure

Electron transport (ET) properties of a series of fluorinated copper-phthalocyanine (F(16)CuPc) thin films, which were deposited at different substrate temperatures (T(sub)) ranging from 30 to 150 degrees C, have been investigated by quantum mechanical calculations of the reorganization energy (lambda(reorg)), X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and microRaman spectroscopy. Density functional theory calculations were used to predict the vibrational frequencies, normal mode displacement vectors, and electron-vibrational lambda(reorg) for the F(16)CuPc molecule. The electron mobilities (mu(e)) of F(16)CuPc thin films are strongly dependent on the T(sub), and the value of mu(e) increases with increasing T(sub) from 30 to 120 degrees C, at which point it reaches its maximum value. The importance of electron-vibrational coupling and molecular microstructures for ET properties in F(16)CuPc thin films are discussed on the basis of theoretical vibrational lambda(reorg) calculations and experimental observations of resonance Raman spectra. We observed a good correlation between mu(e) and the full-width-at-half-maximum of the vibrational bands, which greatly contributed to lambda(reorg) and/or which reflects the molecular microstructural quality of the active channel. In contrast, the crystal size analysis by XRD and surface grain morphology by AFM did not reveal a clear correlation with the ET behaviours for these different F(16)CuPc thin films. Therefore, we suggest that for organic films with weak intermolecular interactions, such as F(16)CuPc, optimized microscopic molecular-scale parameters are highly important for efficient long-range charge transport in the macroscopic devices.

Schottky barrier height and interfacial state density on oxide-GaAs interface

Photoreflectance (PR) and Raman spectra were employed to investigate the interfacial characteristics of a series of oxide films on GaAs. The barrier heights across the interfaces and the densities of interfacial states are determined from the PR intensity as a function of the pump power density. The oxide-GaAs structures fabricated by in situ molecular beam epitaxy exhibit low interfacial state densities in the low 1011 cm−2 range. The density of the interface states of the Ga2O3(Gd2O3)–GaAs structure is as low as (1.24±0.14)×1010 cm−2. The Ga2O3(Gd2O3) dielectric film has effectively passivated the GaAs surface. Additionally, Raman spectra were used to characterize the structural properties of the oxide films.

Studies of the magnetic anisotropies of Co(1100)/Cr(211) and Co(1120)/Cr(100) multilayers

Co(1100)/Cr(211) and Co(1120)/Cr(100) multilayers have been simultaneously prepared on MgO(110) and MgO(100) substrates, respectively, by molecular beam epitaxy. They show however distinct magnetic anisotropic behavior which coincides with their magneto–crystalline anisotropy. Magneto–optical Kerr effect shows the existence of a unique easy axis and strong in‐plane uniaxial magnetic anisotropy in Co(1100)/Cr(211) multilayers, which is induced by the well‐defined hexagonal crystalline of the Co(1100) layers. For Co(1120)/Cr(100) multilayers, on the other hand, an in‐plane biaxial magnetic anisotropy is found due to the bicrystalline structure of the Co(1120) layers.

Light sensing in photosensitive, flexible n-type organic thin-film transistors

Control of the operating voltage in organic thin-film transistor (OTFT) based photosensors is a very important issue, which can effectively enhance photosensitivity by reducing the contribution of the field-effect current to the output current under darkness. In this study, we show a highly sensitive flexible organic photosensor, which is made by the use of cross-linked poly(4-vinylphenol) as a polymer dielectric layer and N,N′-ditridecyl-3,4,9,10-perylenetetracarboxylic diimide (PTCDI-C13H27) as an n-type active layer on a transparent polyethersulfone (PES) substrate, by tuning both source–drain and source–gate voltages to around the threshold voltage (Vt = 3.0 V). Interestingly, a maximum photocurrent/dark current ratio was obtained when the operating voltage was reduced to around Vt. The time-response characteristics and sensitivity of the PTCDI-C13H27-based photosensor were investigated. Considerable interest has been focused on developing a flexible in-cell remote touch screen that should comprise photosensitive OTFTs and switch OTFTs simultaneously. In this work, both switch-OTFTs and photo-OTFTs can be formed on the flexible PES substrate by use of the same fabrication process. The electrical characteristics of switch-OTFTs under bending states are discussed in terms of photoluminescence and time-resolved photoluminescence measurements, as well as quantum theory calculations.

Excimer laser irradiation induced suppression of off-state leakage current in organic transistors

The authors report the suppression of the off-state leakage current and subthreshold swing (SS) in inkjet-printed poly(3-hexylthiophene) thin-film transistors with asymmetric work function source and drain electrodes. Indium tin oxide (ITO) material was used as source/drain electrodes and the source electrode was irradiated by KrF excimer laser. The dominant mechanisms for the suppressive Ioff could be attributed to the increase in the work function of ITO source irradiated by the excimer laser. Lower trap state density formed on the laser irradiated source electrode. Holes could be easily injected into the channel at small lateral electric field resulting in smaller threshold voltage and SS.

Synergistic Effects of Binary-Solvent Annealing for Efficient Polymer-Fullerene Bulk Heterojunction Solar Cells.

Conjugated polymer-fullerene-based bulk-heterojunction (BHJ) organic solar cells (OSCs) have attracted tremendous attention over the past two decades because of their potential to develop low-cost and easy methods to produce energy from light. The complicated microstructure and morphology with randomly organized architecture of these polymer-fullerene-based active layers (ALs) is a key factor that limits photovoltaic performance. In this study, a binary-solvent annealing (BSA) approach was established to improve the poly(3-hexylthiophene):indene-C60 bisadduct-based AL for efficient BHJ-type OSCs by varying the second solvents with different boiling points (BP). Thus, we were able to change the evaporation behavior of cosolvents and consequently obtain the various microstructural properties of the AL. An in-depth study was conducted on the solvent-evaporation driven morphology of the active layer under various cosolvent conditions and its effect on the photovoltaic parameters of OSCs. Under the BSA processes, we found that the specimens with low-BP second solvents allows us to observe a more ideal AL for increasing photon absorption and efficient charge transport and collection at the respective electrodes, resulting in enhanced PCE of the corresponding OSCs. By contrast, the specimens with high-BP second solvents exhibit random microstructures, which are detrimental to charge transport and collection and lead to diminished PCE of the corresponding OSCs. By appropriately selecting the composition of a binary solvent, BSA can be employed as an easy method for the effective manipulation of the microstructures of ALs. BSA is a promising technique for the performance enhancement of not only OSCs but also other organic/polymeric-based electronic devices.

High mobility pentacene thin-film transistors on photopolymer modified dielectrics

An innovative technique for surface modification of pentacene thin-film transistors (TFTs) with mobility greater than 1.92 cm2 V-1 s-1 is reported in this paper. Photosensitive polyimide was used as a modification layer presenting a nonpolar interface on which the semiconductor, pentacene, could grow. The surface of the modification layer was exposed to a polarized ultraviolet light with a dose of 1 J to achieve a nonpolar surface on which high-performance TFTs have been fabricated. The experiment showed that the parasitic contact resistances of silver electrodes could be extracted by the gated-transfer length method, and the corrected field-effect mobility of pentacene TFTs in the linear region was as high as 2.25 cm2 V-1 s-1.