Shunpu Li

Blends of semiconductor polymer and small molecular crystals for improved-performance thin-film transistors

Incorporating dihexyl-quarterthiophene (DH4T) into the active layer of a poly(3-hexylthiophene) thin-film transistor can enhance the mobility by a factor of 10. The DH4T concentration dependence shows the improvement in mobility is due to the formation of crystals within the blend film, which occur at a critical concentration of 29% DH4T. Application of percolation theory reveals that transport in blend devices is limited by the mobility of the poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and by the crystal packing. With improved polymer performance, the mobility in blend films is expected to approach 1cm2∕Vs.

Friction transfer deposition of ordered conjugated polymer nanowires and transistor fabrication

Monodisperse, ordered conjugated polymer nanowires were deposited by friction-transfer technique. Films that comprise such ordered polymer nanowires show a strong optical and electronic anisotropy due to the high compaction of molecule chains in the individual nanowires. Field-effect transistors that were fabricated using poly[9,9-dioctylfluorene-co-bithiophene(F8T2)] nanowires exhibit a field-effect mobility of 3.5×10−2cm2V−1s−1 along the wire direction, which is much higher than the mobility value (5×10−3cm2V−1s−1) obtained in transistors with spin-coated F8T2.

Enhancing Magnetic Ordering in Cr-Doped Bi2Se3 Using High-TC Ferrimagnetic Insulator

We report a study of enhancing the magnetic ordering in a model magnetically doped topological insulator (TI), Bi(2-x)Cr(x)Se(3), via the proximity effect using a high-TC ferrimagnetic insulator Y(3)Fe(5)O(12). The FMI provides the TI with a source of exchange interaction yet without removing the nontrivial surface state. By performing the elemental specific X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) measurements, we have unequivocally observed an enhanced TC of 50 K in this magnetically doped TI/FMI heterostructure. We have also found a larger (6.6 nm at 30 K) but faster decreasing (by 80% from 30 to 50 K) penetration depth compared to that of diluted ferromagnetic semiconductors (DMSs), which could indicate a novel mechanism for the interaction between FMIs and the nontrivial TIs surface.

Spin and orbital moments of nanoscale Fe3O4 epitaxial thin film on MgO/GaAs(100)

Nanoscale Fe3O4 epitaxial thin film has been synthesized on MgO/GaAs(100) spintronic heterostructure, and studied with X-ray magnetic circular dichroism. We have observed a total magnetic moment (ml+s) of (3.32 ± 0.1)μB/f.u., retaining 83% of the bulk value. Unquenched orbital moment (ml) of (0.47 ± 0.05)μB/f.u. has been confirmed by carefully applying the sum rule. The results offer direct experimental evidence of the bulk-like total magnetic moment and a large orbital moment in the nanoscale fully epitaxial Fe3O4/MgO/GaAs(100) heterostructure, which is significant for spintronics applications.

Study of Gd-doped Bi2Te3 thin films: Molecular beam epitaxy growth and magnetic properties

Incorporation of magnetic dopants into topological insulators to break time-reversal symmetry is a prerequisite for observing the quantum anomalous Hall (QAHE) effect and other novel magnetoelectric phenomena. GdBiTe3 with a Gd:Bi ratio of 1:1 is a proposed QAHE system, however, the reported solubility limit for Gd doping into Bi2Te3 bulk crystals is between ∼0.01 and 0.05. We present a magnetic study of molecular beam epitaxy grown (GdxBi1–x)2Te3 thin films with a high Gd concentration, up to x ≈ 0.3. Magnetometry reveals that the films are paramagnetic down to 1.5 K. X-ray magnetic circular dichroism at the Gd M4,5 edge at 1.5 K reveals a saturation field of ∼6 T, and a slow decay of the magnetic moment with temperature up to 200 K. The Gd3+ ions, which are substitutional on Bi sites in the Bi2Te3 lattice, exhibit a large atomic moment of ∼7 μB, as determined by bulk-sensitive superconducting quantum interference device magnetometry. Surface oxidation and the formation of Gd2O3 lead to a reduced moment ...

Self‐Aligned High‐Resolution Printed Polymer Transistors

A process to fabricate solution-processable thin-film transistors (TFTs) with a one-step self-aligned definition of the dimensions in all functional layers is demonstrated. The TFT-channel, semiconductor materials, and effective gate dimention of different layers are determined by a one-step imprint process and the subsequent pattern transfer without the need for multiple patterning and mask alignment. The process is compatible with fabrication of large-scale circuits. Copyright

Short-channel polymer field-effect-transistor fabrication using spin-coating-induced edge template and ink-jet printing

A method to fabricate polymer field-effect transistors with submicron channel lengths is described. A thin polymer film is spin coated on a prepatterned resist with a low resolution to create a thickness contrast in the overcoated polymer layer. After plasma and solvent etching, a submicron-sized line structure, which templates the contour of the prepattern, is obtained. A further lift-off process is applied to define source-drain electrodes of transistors. With a combination of ink-jet printing, transistors with channel length down to 400 nm have been fabricated by this method. We show that drive current density increases as expected, while the on/off current ratio 106 is achieved.

Polymer thin film transistors with self-aligned gates fabricated using ink-jet printing

Polymer thin film transistors (TFTs) with self-aligned gates have been fabricated by using a one step prepatterning technique in combination with ink-jet printing. The TFTs the authors show here are of the bottom gate configuration, whereby the gate electrode dimensions are defined by microembossing a polymer film which is supported by another polymer layer acting as a buffer. The deposition of the aluminium gates into the depressions of the embossed film was realized by thermal evaporation and subsequent lift-off technique. The buffer layer was then etched by using the gate electrodes as mask to create a thickness contrast. By taking the advantage of this thickness contrast a self-assembled molecule monolayer was applied by soft-contact printing on a spin coated dielectric layer to generate a series of banks with a sufficiently high wetting contrast for subsequent ink-jet deposition of the source and drain electrodes. Self-aligned bottom gated TFTs with channel lengths from several to several tens of mic...

Broadband MoS2 Field-Effect Phototransistors: Ultrasensitive Visible-Light Photoresponse and Negative Infrared Photoresponse.

Inverse photoresponse is discovered from phototransistors based on molybdenum disulfide (MoS2 ). The devices are capable of detecting photons with energy below the bandgap of MoS2 . Under the illumination of near-infrared (NIR) light at 980 and 1550 nm, negative photoresponses with short response time (50 ms) are observed for the first time. Upon visible-light illumination, the phototransistors exhibit positive photoresponse with ultrahigh responsivity on the order of 104 -105 A W-1 owing to the photogating effect and charge trapping mechanism. Besides, the phototransistors can detect a weak visible-light signal with effective optical power as low as 17 picowatts (pW). A thermally induced photoresponse mechanism, the bolometric effect, is proposed as the cause of the negative photocurrent in the NIR regime. The thermal energy of the NIR radiation is transferred to the MoS2 crystal lattice, inducing lattice heating and resistance increase. This model is experimentally confirmed by low-temperature electrical measurements. The bolometric coefficient calculated from the measured transport current change with temperature is -33 nA K-1 . These findings offer a new approach to develop sub-bandgap photodetectors and other novel optoelectronic devices based on 2D layered materials.

Polymer transistors fabricated by painting of metallic nanoparticles

In this letter the authors describe the fabrication of high performance polymer thin film transistors using an aqueous based silver colloid to form source and drain electrodes patterned by brush painting. The electrode dimensions were controlled by a surface energy pattern defined by soft contact printing of a self-assembled monolayer 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorodecyl-trichlorosilane on a SiO2 surface which acted as a dewetting layer for the painted silver particle suspension. Another self-assembled monolayer of 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorodecanethiol was also used to increase the work function of the patterned silver electrodes in order to decrease the barrier for charge injection into the polymer semiconductor. The field-effect mobility of the thin film transistors fabricated by this method approached 0.02cm2V−1s−1 with an on/off current ratio of 105. The relative high mobility may be influenced by the ordering of the poly(3-hexylthiophene) semiconductor layer by the self-assembled monolayer used to define the source...