Optimal Structure for High-Performance and Low-Contact-Resistance Organic Field-Effect Transistors Using Contact-Doped Coplanar and Pseudo-Staggered Device Architectures

• Published in: Advanced functional materials Vol. 22; no. 21; pp. 4577 - 4583
• Main Authors: Darmawan, Peter, Minari, Takeo, Xu, Yong, Li, Song-Lin, Song, Haisheng, Chan, Meiyin, Tsukagoshi, Kazuhito
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Weinheim WILEY-VCH Verlag 07.11.2012; WILEY‐VCH Verlag
• Subjects: contact resistance; FeCl3; organic field-effect transistors (OFETs); thienoacene
• ISSN: 1616-301X; 1616-3028
• DOI: 10.1002/adfm.201201094

A low contact resistance achieved on top‐gated organic field‐effect transistors by using coplanar and pseudo‐staggered device architectures, as well as the introduction of a dopant layer, is reported. The top‐gated structure effectively minimizes the access resistance from the contact to the channel region and the charge‐injection barrier is suppressed by doping of iron(III)trichloride at the metal/organic semiconductor interface. Compared with conventional bottom‐gated staggered devices, a remarkably low contact resistance of 0.1–0.2 kΩ cm is extracted from the top‐gated devices by the modified transfer line method. The top‐gated devices using thienoacene compound as a semiconductor exhibit a high average field‐effect mobility of 5.5–5.7 cm2 V−1 s−1 and an acceptable subthreshold swing of 0.23–0.24 V dec−1 without degradation in the on/off ratio of ≈109. Based on these experimental achievements, an optimal device structure for a high‐performance organic transistor is proposed. An exceptionally low contact resistance is achieved in top‐gated organic field‐effect transistors by using coplanar and pseudo‐staggered device architectures and introducing a dopant layer. Compared with conventional bottom‐gated staggered devices, a remarkably low contact resistance is extracted from the top‐gated devices by the modified transfer line method.