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Grain size adjustion in organic field-effect transistors for chemical sensing performance improvement

调节晶粒尺寸来提高有机场效应晶体管的化学传感性能

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Abstract

Various nanostructures of the organic semiconductor (OSC) films have been reported to enhance the organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) sensing performance. However, complicated fabrication processes hinder their applications. In this work, we have effectively enhanced the sensitivity of the OFET-based sensors only by adjusting substrate temperature in OSC preparation and surface treatment of the dielectric layer. The relative sensitivity of the device can be enhanced by 5 times. The flexible sensors with polymer dielectric also exhibit high sensitivity because the less smooth surface of the polymer provides the OSCs with smaller grain size. Therefore, this work reveals the trade-off effects of the OSCs grain size on both transistor characteristic and chemical sensing performance, and provides a simple and extensively applicable strategy for OFETs sensitivity improvement.

摘要

基于有机场效应晶体管(OFET)的化学传感器, 分析物在与位于有机半导体(OSC)薄膜底部的导电沟道发生相互作用之前需要扩散通过整层OSC, 从而大大地限制了器件的灵敏度. 虽然通过设计各种纳米结构OSC薄膜来提高器件传感性能的方法见诸报道, 然而, 这些纳米结构的制备过程复杂且不能广泛适用于种类繁多的OSC材料. 本文首先研究了OSC晶粒尺寸对OFET化学传感器灵敏度的影响, 结果表明更小的晶粒尺寸能为化学分析物的扩散提供更多的空间间隙, 从而有利于提高器件灵敏度. 基于此, 我们通过简单地调控OFET的制备参数, 包括OSC薄膜蒸镀过程中的基板温度, OFET基底的表面处理程度等参数, 将传感器的相对灵敏度提高了5倍. 基于聚合物介电层的柔性传感器也表现出较好的灵敏度. 该工作揭示了OSC晶粒尺寸对器件晶体管性能和传感器性能的互不相同的影响, 并且为提高OFET化学传感器性能提供了一种简便且广适性的策略.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51603151 and 51741302), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2017YFA0103900 & 2017YFA0103904), Science & Technology Foundation of Shanghai (17JC1404600), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, 201804, China

    Xiaohan Wu  (吴小晗), Rongrong Du  (都蓉蓉), Lu Fang  (方路), Yingli Chu  (褚莹莉) & Jia Huang  (黄佳)

  2. State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China

    Zhuo Li  (李卓)

Authors
  1. Xiaohan Wu  (吴小晗)
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  2. Rongrong Du  (都蓉蓉)
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  3. Lu Fang  (方路)
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  4. Yingli Chu  (褚莹莉)
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  5. Zhuo Li  (李卓)
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  6. Jia Huang  (黄佳)
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Correspondence to Jia Huang  (黄佳).

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Xiaohan Wu is now an Assistant Professor in School of Materials Science and Engineering at Tongji University in Shanghai. He received the Ph.D. degree in chemistry and biology for health at University of Montpellier I, France. His research interests refer to organic semiconductors and biomaterials, biocompatible and flexible electronics; organic field-effect transistors; highly sensitive temperature and optical sensors; self-assembly of amphiphilic bio-copolymers; nano particles for drug controlled release.

Jia Huang is a Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Tongji University, Shanghai, China. He received the B. Sc. degree in materials science and engineering from the University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China, the M.Sc. degree in applied science from the College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA, USA, and the Ph.D. degree in materials science and engineering from Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA. His researches focus on organic semiconductors, flexible electronics, chemical and biological sensors, thin-film transistors, and energy related materials.

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Wu, X., Du, R., Fang, L. et al. Grain size adjustion in organic field-effect transistors for chemical sensing performance improvement. Sci. China Mater. 62, 138–145 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40843-018-9279-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40843-018-9279-2

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