Thin Films of Highly Planar Semiconductor Polymers Exhibiting Band-like Transport at Room Temperature.

We report the observation of band-like transport from printed polymer thin films at room temperature. This was achieved from donor-acceptor type thiophene-thiazole copolymer that was carefully designed to enhance the planarity of the backbone and the resulting transfer integral between the macromolecules. Due to the strong molecular interaction, the printed polymer film exhibited extremely low trap density comparable to that of molecular single crystals. Moreover, the energy barrier height for charge transport could be readily reduced with the aid of electric field, which led formation of extended electron states for band-like charge transport at room temperature.

Dibenzothiopheno[6,5-b:6',5'-f]thieno[3,2-b]thiophene (DBTTT): high-performance small-molecule organic semiconductor for field-effect transistors.

We present the synthesis, characterization, and structural analysis of a thiophene-rich heteroacene, dibenzothiopheno[6,5-b:6',5'-f]thieno[3,2-b]thiophene (DBTTT) as well as its application in field-effect transistors. The design of DBTTT is based on the enhancement of intermolecular charge transfer through strong S-S interactions. Crystal structure analysis showed that the intermolecular π-π distance is shortened and that the packing density is higher than those of the electronically equivalent benzene analogue, dinaphtho-[2,3-b:2',3'-f]thieno[3,2-b]thiophene (DNTT). The highest hole mobility we obtained in polycrystalline DBTTT thin-film transistors was 19.3 cm(2)·V(-1)·s(-1), six times higher than that of DNTT-based transistors. The observed isotropic angular mobilities and thermal stabilities at temperatures up to 140 °C indicate the great potential of DBTTT for attaining device uniformity and processability.

Reliable and uniform thin-film transistor arrays based on inkjet-printed polymer semiconductors for full color reflective displays.

Stable uniform performance inkjet-printed polymer transistor arrays, which allow demonstration of flexible full-color displays, were achieved by new ambient processable conjugated copolymer semiconductor, and OTFT devices incorporating this material showed high mobility values>1.0 cm2 V(-1) s(-1). Bias-stress stability of the devices was improved with a channel-passivation layer, which suppresses the density of trap states at the channel interface.

Design of a polymer-carbon nanohybrid junction by interface modeling for efficient printed transistors.

Molecularly hybridized materials composed of polymer semiconductors (PSCs) and single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) may provide a new way to exploit an advantageous combination of semiconductors, which yields electrical properties that are not available in a single-component system. We demonstrate for the first time high-performance inkjet-printed hybrid thin film transistors with an electrically engineered heterostructure by using specially designed PSCs and semiconducting SWNTs (sc-SWNTs) whose system achieved a high mobility of 0.23 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1), no V(on) shift, and a low off-current. PSCs were designed by calculation of the density of states of the backbone structure, which was related to charge transfer. The sc-SWNTs were prepared by a single cascade of the density-induced separation method. We also revealed that the binding energy between PSCs and sc-SWNTs was strongly affected by the side-chain length of PSCs, leading to the formation of a homogeneous nanohybrid film. The understanding of electrostatic interactions in the heterostructure and experimental results suggests criteria for the design of nanohybrid heterostructures.

Fabrication and evaluation of solution-processed reduced graphene oxide electrodes for p- and n-channel bottom-contact organic thin-film transistors.

Reduced graphene oxide (RGO) is an electrically conductive carbon-based nanomaterial that has recently attracted attention as a potential electrode for organic electronics. Here we evaluate several solution-based methods for fabricating RGO bottom-contact (BC) electrodes for organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs), demonstrate functional p- and n-channel devices with such electrodes, and compare their electrical performance with analogous devices containing gold electrodes. We show that the morphology of organic semiconductor films deposited on RGO electrodes is similar to that observed in the channel region of the devices and that devices fabricated with RGO electrodes have lower contact resistances compared to those fabricated with gold contacts. Although the conductivity of RGO is poor compared to that of gold, RGO is still an enticing electrode material for organic electronic devices possibly owing to the retention of desirable morphological features, lower contact resistance, lower cost, and solution processability.

Liquid-crystalline semiconducting copolymers with intramolecular donor-acceptor building blocks for high-stability polymer transistors.

The ability to control the molecular organization of electronically active liquid-crystalline polymer semiconductors on surfaces provides opportunities to develop easy-to-process yet highly ordered supramolecular systems and, in particular, to optimize their electrical and environmental reliability in applications in the field of large-area printed electronics and photovoltaics. Understanding the relationship between liquid-crystalline nanostructure and electrical stability on appropriate molecular surfaces is the key to enhancing the performance of organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) to a degree comparable to that of amorphous silicon (a-Si). Here, we report a novel donor-acceptor type liquid-crystalline semiconducting copolymer, poly(didodecylquaterthiophene-alt-didodecylbithiazole), which contains both electron-donating quaterthiophene and electron-accepting 5,5'-bithiazole units. This copolymer exhibits excellent electrical characteristics such as field-effect mobilities as high as 0.33 cm(2)/V.s and good bias-stress stability comparable to that of amorphous silicon (a-Si). Liquid-crystalline thin films with structural anisotropy form spontaneously through self-organization of individual polymer chains as a result of intermolecular interactions in the liquid-crystalline mesophase. These thin films adopt preferential well-ordered intermolecular pi-pi stacking parallel to the substrate surface. This bottom-up assembly of the liquid-crystalline semiconducting copolymer enables facile fabrication of highly ordered channel layers with remarkable electrical stability.

Transfer of photoenergy in pi-conjugated polymers. Two types of photoluminescence that involve energy transfer along a polymer chain.

Two types of energy transfer in pi-conjugated polymers have been investigated using time-resolved photoluminescence (PL) techniques: type i, perpendicular-type energy transfer from the 2,3-di(p-tolyl)quinoxaline unit to the pi-conjugated main chain of poly[2,3-di(p-tolyl)quinoxaline-5,8-diyl], and type ii, parallel-type energy transfer from the oligo(pyridine-2,5-diyl) (O-Py) unit to the oligo(selenophene-2,5-diyl) (O-Se) unit in a block-type copolymer of O-Py and O-Se. Both types of energy transfer were very fast with a time constant shorter than approximately 0.1 ns; in particular, the type ii energy transfer took place with a time constant of approximately 5 ps. Both pi-conjugated polymers were considered to contain segments with various effective pi-conjugation lengths, and the energy transfer to the segment with a larger effective pi-conjugation length and a smaller pi-pi* transition energy required a longer transition time. A polarizing film was obtained by utilizing the perpendicular-type energy transfer.