Takafumi Uemura

Patternable Solution‐Crystallized Organic Transistors with High Charge Carrier Mobility

Development of high-performance printed semiconductor devices is highly desired with the expectation for the nextgeneration technologies of “printable electronics” providing simply fabricated, fl exible, large-area, low-cost, and environmentally friendly electronic products such as paper-like fl exible displays. Patterned arrays of printed organic fi eld-effect transistors (OFETs) based on chemically stable solutionprocessed organic semiconductors are regarded as key devices that operate as fundamental switching components in, for example, pixel-controlling active-matrix elements. However, performance of conventional solution-coated noncrystal organic thin-fi lm transistors has yet to be improved for practical use in general electronic circuitry. Here, newly developed arrays of patterned crystalline OFETs of air-stable compound 2,9-didecyl-dinaphtho[2,3-b:2’,3’-f ]thieno[3,2-b]thiophene (C 10 -DNTT) formed from hot solution are presented. A method of oriented growth is introduced to provide the singlecrystalline fi lms of C 10 -DNTT that regulates the crystallizing direction and positions in a single process. The benchmark value, 10 cm 2 V − 1 s − 1 , of the charge mobility is achieved for the present OFETs, far exceeding the performance of former devices and opening a practical way to realize printed and fl exible electronics with suffi cient switching speed. The result is attributed to almost perfect molecular periodicity in the crystal fi lms, which allows effective intermolecular charge transport of the electrons.

Very High Mobility in Solution-Processed Organic Thin-Film Transistors of Highly Ordered [1]Benzothieno[3,2-b]benzothiophene Derivatives

Field-effect mobility as high as 5 cm2/(V s) is achieved in solution-processed organic thin-film transistors with the development of a method for growing highly-oriented crystalline films of [1]benzothieno[3,2-b]benzothiophene derivatives. A droplet of the solution is sustained at an edge of a structure on an inclined substrate, so that the crystalline domain grows in the direction of inclination. The oriented growth realizes excellent molecular ordering that manifests itself in micrometer-scale molecular terraces on the surface as a result of the self-organizing function of the material. The unprecedented performance achieved using an easy fabrication process has increased attractiveness of organic thin-film transistors for industrial applications.

Enhanced fluorescence by surface plasmon coupling of Au nanoparticles in an organic electroluminescence diode

A significant increase in electroluminescence was achieved through coupling with localized surface plasmons in a single layer of Au nanoparticles. We fabricated a thin-film organic electroluminescence diode, which consists of an indium tin oxide (ITO) anode, a Au nanoparticle array, a Cu phthalocyanine hole transport layer, a tris(8-hydroxylquinolianato) aluminum (III) electron transport layer, a LiF electron injection layer, and an Al cathode. The device structure, with size-controlled Au particles embedded on ITO, can be used to realize the optimum distance for exciton-plasmon interactions by simply adjusting the thickness of the hole transport layer. We observed a 20-fold increase in the molecular fluorescence compared with that of a conventional diode structure.

Solution-crystallized organic field-effect transistors with charge-acceptor layers: high-mobility and low-threshold-voltage operation in air.

For the development of low-cost fl exible electronic devices organic fi eld-effect transistors (OFETs) are highly anticipated for use in fundamental switching components because OFETs allow easy production routes from solution at low temperatures, which do not damage the plastic substrates. Processes such as the spin-coating of polymers or polycrystalline thin fi lms are indeed very advantageous because they allow mass production on large-area plastic backplanes. However, the typical performance of solution-coated organic thin-fi lm transistors is not yet satisfactory for their expected use in common applications such as active matrices in large-area fl exible displays. Though mobility of more than 10 cm 2 V − 1 s − 1 is achieved for devices based on vapor-grown organic single crystals, [ 1–3 ] these “hand-made” devices are not suitable for industrial production. In addition, an equally important requirement for their practical usage is stable operation in ambient atmosphere. Here, we report high-mobility organic single-crystal transistors of air-stable compound 2,7-dioctyl[1]benzothieno[3,2b ][1]benzothiophene (C 8 -BTBT) treated with a 2,3,5,6-tetrafl uoro-7,7,8,8tetracyanoquinodimethane (F 4 -TCNQ) solution. A method of oriented growth is employed to provide fully single-crystal domains of the C 8 -BTBT main channels, regulating crystallographic direction during the fi lm growth. Charge mobility as high as 3.5–6 cm 2 V − 1 s − 1 is achieved in the saturation regime, owing to the almost perfectly periodic crystal packing that allows effective intermolecular exchange of π electrons. Excellent air stability due to the high ionization potential is reported for C 8 -BTBT, [ 4 ] though it had the drawback of a relatively high

V‐Shaped Organic Semiconductors With Solution Processability, High Mobility, and High Thermal Durability

V-shaped organic semiconductors have been designed and synthesized via a large-scale applicable synthetic route. Solution-crystallized films based on such molecules have demonstrated high-performance transistor properties with maximum mobilities of up to 9.5 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) as well as pronounced thermal durability of up to 150 °C inherent in the V-shaped cores.

High Electron Mobility in Air for N,N′‐1H,1H‐Perfluorobutyldicyanoperylene Carboxydi‐imide Solution‐Crystallized Thin‐Film Transistors on Hydrophobic Surfaces

After remarkable progress in developing organic semiconductors during the last decade, it remains challenging to achieve highmobility, air-stable and solution-processed organic fi eld-effect transistors (OFETs) based on electron-transporting (n-type) materials with a performance comparable to that of hole-transporting (p-type) organic semiconductors. [ 1 ] Both types of semiconductor are needed for industrial applications based on high-speed complementary logic devices. As seen for complementary metaloxide-semiconductor (CMOS) devices in current silicon technology, high-performance, organic complementary circuits will enable the development of low-cost and large-area electronic devices, even on plastic substrates via simple printing processes. For this purpose, it is necessary to develop high-performance devices processed at near room temperature from solution. Since the performance of solution-processed p-type organic semiconductors has advanced recently, it is now needed to improve the performance of the corresponding n-type OFETs. Although the highest mobility for molecular semiconductors that has been reported for solution-crystallized p-type OFETs is > 10 cm 2 V − 1 s − 1 , [ 2a ] the maximum value reported for n-type devices is only 0.16 cm 2 V − 1 s − 1 . [ 2b ] We have developed a technique to form highly crystalline, n-type, organic semiconductor fi lms on low-surface-energy gate dielectrics so that a carrier mobility > 1 cm 2 V − 1 s − 1 is achieved for an important material, N , N′ -1 H ,1 H -perfluorobutyldicyanoperylene-carboxydi-imide (PDIF-CN 2 ), when processed in ambient atmosphere.

On the Extraction of Charge Carrier Mobility in High‐Mobility Organic Transistors

Transistor parameter extraction by the conventional transconductance method can lead to a mobility overestimate. Organic transistors undergoing major contact resistance experience a significant drop in mobility upon mild annealing. Before annealing, strong field-dependent contact resistance yields nonlinear transfer curves with locally high transconductances, resulting in a mobility overestimate. After annealing, a contact resistance below 200 Ω cm is achieved, which is stable over a wide V(G) range.

High‐Performance Solution‐Processable N‐Shaped Organic Semiconducting Materials with Stabilized Crystal Phase

N-shaped organic semiconductors are synthesized via four steps from a readily available starting material. Such semiconductors exhibit preferable ionization potential for p-type operation, thermally stable crystalline phase over 200 °C, and high carrier mobility up to 16 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) (12.1 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) on average) with small threshold voltages in solution-crystallized field-effect transistors.

Inch-Size Solution-Processed Single-Crystalline Films of High-Mobility Organic Semiconductors

A method for continuously growing large-domain organic semiconductor crystals is developed to fabricate multi-array high-mobility organic transistors. An organic semiconductor solution is held at the edge of a moving blade to grow a large-area crystalline thin film. The continuous evaporation of the solvent at around 100 °C, while the solution is supplied at the same rate, allows the organic crystals to grow steadily on the substrate to several inches in size. The performance of the arrays of field-effect transistors based on the large-domain crystal films is excellent, with mobility of 5–10 cm2 V-1 s-1.

High-Speed Flexible Organic Field-Effect Transistors with a 3D Structure

Organic semiconductor materials offer fl exible platforms for charge current due to their weak van der Waals interaction between π -conjugated organic molecules such that the transport of electrons or holes is activated with modest mobility. Making use of such material properties, technologies of fl exible organic fi eld-effect transistors (OFETs) are in the process of developing attractive devices with fl exible, stretchable, light-weight, low-cost, and low-power-consumption switching components, such as active-matrix elements for plastic displays, [ 1–4 ] sensor arrays, [ 5 , 6 ]