Perylene-Diimide Molecules with Cyano Functionalization for Electron-Transporting Transistors

• Published in: Electronics (Basel) Vol. 8; no. 2; p. 249
• Main Authors: Barra, Mario, Chiarella, Fabio, Chianese, Federico, Vaglio, Ruggero, Cassinese, Antonio
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.02.2019
• Subjects: Charge transport; Contact resistance; Contact stresses; Diimide; Electric contacts; Electrical properties; Electron transport; Field effect transistors; Self-assembly; Semiconductor devices; Semiconductors; Single crystals; Thin films; Transistors
• ISSN: 2079-9292; 2079-9292
• DOI: 10.3390/electronics8020249

Core-cyanated perylene diimide (PDI_CY) derivatives are molecular compounds exhibiting an uncommon combination of appealing properties, including remarkable oxidative stability, high electron affinities, and excellent self-assembling properties. Such features made these compounds the subject of study for several research groups aimed at developing electron-transporting (n-type) devices with superior charge transport performances. After about fifteen years since the first report, field-effect transistors based on PDI_CY thin films are still intensely investigated by the scientific community for the attainment of n-type devices that are able to balance the performances of the best p-type ones. In this review, we summarize the main results achieved by our group in the fabrication and characterization of transistors based on PDI8-CN2 and PDIF-CN2 molecules, undoubtedly the most renowned compounds of the PDI_CY family. Our attention was mainly focused on the electrical properties, both at the micro and nanoscale, of PDI8-CN2 and PDIF-CN2 films deposited using different evaporation techniques. Specific topics, such as the contact resistance phenomenon, the bias stress effect, and the operation in liquid environment, have been also analyzed.