Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Shuwen Chen, Shuyin Zhu, Zhiqun Lin, Juan Peng
Summary: The study introduces a new method to effectively modulate polymorphs of conjugated polymers and investigate the relationship between different polymorphs and charge transport characteristics. The research demonstrates that polymorph transformation can be efficiently achieved with this method, elucidating the kinetics of the transformation and its impact. The results reveal a strong correlation between device performance and attained polymorphs and crystal orientations.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Tommaso Losi, Lukasz Witczak, Mateusz Lysien, Pietro Rossi, Paola Moretti, Chiara Bertarelli, Virgilio Mattoli, Mario Caironi
Summary: Organic electronics is a promising technology for low-cost and simple device fabrication. This study successfully integrated direct written metal contacts in fully solution fabricated n-type OFETs, achieving a short channel of 1.4 μm and a high transition frequency of 25.5 MHz at 25 V. This demonstrates the potential of additive, high-resolution direct-writing techniques for high-frequency organic electronics.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Physics, Applied
Michael Berteau-Rainville, Adrian Tamayo, Tim Leydecker, Atiye Pezeshki, Ingo Salzmann, Marta Mas-Torrent, Emanuele Orgiu
Summary: This study demonstrates that co-processing with polystyrene (PS) significantly reduces interfacial trap densities and lowers activation energies for OFETs based on TIPS-pentacene, leading to enhanced transport properties. This processing method results in TIPS-pentacene thin films with activation energies as low as 15 meV, originating from decreased trap densities and shallower trapping energies.
APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Seon Baek Lee, Siyoung Lee, Dae Gun Kim, Seung Hyun Kim, Boseok Kang, Kilwon Cho
Summary: This research presents a new simple bar-coating technique to rapidly and effectively form organic semiconductor thin-film patterns, offering potential breakthroughs in industrial applications in the field of organic electronics.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Polymer Science
Qingqing Zhao, Shuyin Zhu, Juan Peng
Summary: This paper reports a new method to achieve co-crystallization in polymer blends, specifically in the films of poly(2,5-bis(3-hexylthiophen-2-yl)thieno[3,2-b]thiophene) (PBTTT-C6) and poly(2,5-bis(3-decylthiophen-2-yl)thieno[3,2-b]thiophene) (PBTTT-C10), using a robust meniscus-assisted solution-shearing (MASS) strategy. The co-crystalline structure is correlated with the charge transport properties, and the kinetics, chain packing changes, and optical properties of the co-crystallization process are investigated. The resulting organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) demonstrate improved charge transport due to the co-crystallization in the blends.
MACROMOLECULAR RAPID COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Lisa S. Walter, Amelie Axt, James W. Borchert, Theresa Kammerbauer, Felix Winterer, Jakob Lenz, Stefan A. L. Weber, R. Thomas Weitz
Summary: In organic electronics, grain boundaries have a critical impact on charge transport. However, they are often hidden within the film and difficult to observe. By studying a minimal model system of thin films, it is found that grain boundaries can be either energetic barriers or valleys, and their influence is particularly pronounced at low charge-carrier densities. Furthermore, processing conditions that can control the type and energetic height of grain boundaries are identified.
Article
Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
Dingwei Li, Yitong Chen, Yingjie Tang, Kun Liang, Huihui Ren, Fanfan Li, Yan Wang, Guolei Liu, Chunyan Song, Lei Meng, Bowen Zhu
Summary: Organic/inorganic hybrid phototransistors are a newly emerging class of advanced optoelectronic devices that possess remarkable sensing performance in a broad spectrum and are promising for large-area matrix integration and wearable applications. The rational customization of hybrid heterojunctions allows for extraordinary photoelectric behaviors and in-sensor computing functions. In this Spotlight on Applications, the recent progress and applications of organic/inorganic hybrid phototransistors in photodetection, sensor arrays, flexible electronics, and in-sensor computing are reviewed.
ACS APPLIED ELECTRONIC MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Tomoya Taguchi, Fabio Chiarella, Mario Barra, Federico Chianese, Yoshihiro Kubozono, Antonio Cassinese
Summary: This study investigates the electrical response of field-effect transistors achieved through the evaporation of picene and PDIF-CN2 molecules with the goal of obtaining a balanced ambipolar response. By analyzing various device configurations, the most suitable choices for layer deposition processes and related characteristic parameters were identified, resulting in ambipolar organic field-effect transistors with balanced mobility values exceeding 0.1 cm(2) V-1 s(-1) for both electrons and holes.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Punitha Shanmugam, Kishore Pushparaj, Anandhakumar Sundaramurthy, Yuvaraj Sivalingam
Summary: CeO2 nanoparticles with irregular shapes and sizes were synthesized by the precipitation method using poly(vinylpyrrolidone) as a precipitating agent. Raman spectroscopy confirmed the presence of oxygen vacancies in the synthesized material. The CeO2 nanoparticles showed selective adsorption towards triethylamine vapours, making them a potential candidate for a novel gas sensor for room temperature triethylamine detection.
JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR STRUCTURE
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
Aimi Syairah Safaruddin, Juan Paolo S. Bermundo, Michael Paul A. Jallorina, Atsuko Yamamoto, Yukiharu Uraoka
Summary: The reliability of solution-processed amorphous indium zinc oxide (a-IZO) thin-film transistors (TFTs) was evaluated using inorganic-organic fluorinated polysilsesquioxane (PSQ:F) passivation layers. The PSQ:F passivation layers exhibited superior barrier property and improved the stability and electrical performance of the devices.
MATERIALS SCIENCE IN SEMICONDUCTOR PROCESSING
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
S. M. Sattari-Esfahlan, Eun-Cheol Lee, Chang-Hyun Kim
Summary: This study delves into the synergistic effects of electrode and dielectric SAMs on the behavior of solution-processed organic field-effect transistors, providing fundamental insights into chemically modified OFETs. By utilizing a self-consistent device model to robustly treat the measured electrical characteristics of the OFETs, reliable material, interface, morphology, and transport parameters are obtained and correlated to build a comprehensive understanding on trap energy and injection-transport relationship.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Seungjae Yun, Assunta Marrocchi, Luigi Vaccaro, Choongik Kim
Summary: This study examines the effect of solution-shearing processing parameters on the electrical properties of solution-processed organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) using green solvents. The research focuses on the coating speed and substrate temperature and analyzes the film morphology and crystal structure. The results show that OFET devices fabricated with cyclohexanone as the green solvent exhibit high charge carrier mobility under optimized processing conditions.
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Bogyeong Choi, Dongyub Kwon, Gergely Tarsoly, Junyong Park, Seungmoon Pyo
Summary: Organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) have been extensively studied due to their suitability for low-cost, large-area, and flexible electronics. This study fabricates an n-type OFET with increased switching speed using a dual-role approach, paving the way for further advancements in high-speed OFET technology.
ADVANCED ELECTRONIC MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Xiaobin Ruan, Shuiling Cheng, Wei Deng, Yuan Tan, Zhengjun Lu, Jialin Shi, Xiujuan Zhang, Jiansheng Jie
Summary: Minority carrier traps in organic semiconductors significantly affect the performance and stability of optoelectronic devices. Water and oxygen in residual organic solvents are identified as the main cause of these traps. The photostability of OFETs can be improved by using a molecular additive strategy to release trapped electrons.
ADVANCED ELECTRONIC MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Flavien Vucko, Varvara Shubina Helbert, Andrei Nazarov
Summary: The atmospheric corrosion of high-strength steels can lead to hydrogen absorption, which is directly related to hydrogen embrittlement or delayed fracture phenomena. The potential of an oxidized surface was correlated with the flux of hydrogen using a scanning Kelvin probe (SKP) and electrochemical permeation technique (EPT). SKP can be used to map hydrogen distribution in corroding metal and accurately quantify low hydrogen flux typically observed under atmospheric corrosion conditions, allowing for evaluation of hydrogen localization that affects steel durability.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Ilaria Fratelli, Laura Basirico, Andrea Ciavatti, Zachary A. Lamport, John E. Anthony, Ioannis Kymissis, Beatrice Fraboni
Summary: Organic semiconductors are promising materials for X-ray detectors due to their mechanical flexibility and large coverage. The detection efficiency can be enhanced by considering the photoconductive gain effect. This study demonstrates a flexible arrayed thin-film X-ray detector with record X-ray sensitivities using controlled solution deposition and crystallization processes.
ADVANCED MATERIALS TECHNOLOGIES
(2023)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Giorgio Cortelli, Leroy Grob, Luca Patruno, Tobias Cramer, Dirk Mayer, Beatrice Fraboni, Bernhard Wolfrum, Stefano de Miranda
Summary: Nowadays, many applications in various fields are utilizing micropillars, such as optics, tribology, biology, and biomedical engineering. One of the most attractive applications is the use of three-dimensional microelectrode arrays for in vivo and in vitro studies. The accurate mechanical characterization of the micropillar is crucial in the fabrication and optimization of such devices, as it determines their reliability.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2023)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Jinghai Li, Adara Babuji, Lamiaa Fijahi, Ann Maria James, Roland Resel, Tommaso Salzillo, Raphael Pfattner, Carmen Ocal, Esther Barrena, Marta Mas-Torrent
Summary: In this study, it was found that contact resistance and charge trapping are two key obstacles that negatively affect the performance of organic field-effect transistors (OFETs). By using CH3CN vapor annealing and doping procedures, the interfacial shallow traps and deeper traps in the organic semiconductor (OSC) film can be effectively reduced, resulting in a significant reduction of contact resistance. Moreover, the devices treated with I2/CH3CN demonstrate ideal electrical characteristics with negligible levels of shallow/deep traps and highly gate-independent mobility. Therefore, this work highlights the promising synergistic effects of simultaneous solvent vapor annealing and doping, which can effectively eliminate contact resistance problems in OSC films.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2023)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
J. Alejandro De Sousa, Raphael Pfattner, Diego Gutierrez, Kilian Jutglar, T. Bromley Stefan, Jaume Veciana, Concepcio Rovira, Marta Mas-Torrent, Bruno Fabre, Nuria Crivillers
Summary: The preparation of monolayers based on an organic radical and its diamagnetic counterpart has been investigated on hydrogen-terminated silicon surfaces. The monolayers exhibit a characteristic diode behavior in solid-state metal/monolayer/semiconductor junctions, which is influenced by the electronic characteristics of the organic molecule. The presence of the radical significantly enhances the rectification ratio and photosensitivity of the junction.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Jinghai Li, Adrian Tamayo, Aleix Quintana, Sergi Riera-Galindo, Raphael Pfattner, Yanyan Gong, Marta Mas-Torrent
Summary: The use of blends of small molecule organic semiconductors (OSCs) with insulating binding polymers can facilitate the processing of OSCs over large areas using printing techniques. The nature of the binding polymer significantly impacts the device performance, with blends of polystyrene (PS) showing the best performance in terms of mobility, threshold voltage, and bias stress stability. On the other hand, blends with poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) exhibit the lowest performance due to higher density of hole traps. For UV light response, blends with poly(pentafluorostyrene) (PFS) and pristine films demonstrate the highest photoresponse due to higher density of electron traps. The binding polymer proves to be a useful tool in optimizing the electrical characteristics and photoresponsivity of the organic field-effect transistors (OFETs).
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY C
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Jinghai Li, Elisabetta Colantoni, Ines Temino, Paolo Branchini, Luca Tortora, Marta Mas-Torrent
Summary: Molecular contact doping is an efficient strategy to reduce device contact resistance in organic field-effect transistors (OFETs). However, dopant diffusion poses a challenge to its implementation as it hampers device performance. In this study, OFETs based on C8-BTBT-C8 were fabricated and the performance was significantly improved by inserting a layer of the p-dopant F4TCNQ. The diffusion of the dopant was controlled by blending the OSC with PS of different molecular weights, resulting in enhanced long-term device stability.
CHEMISTRY OF MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Matteo Verdi, Antonella Giuri, Andrea Ciavatti, Aurora Rizzo, Carola Esposito Corcione, Laura Basirico, Silvia Colella, Beatrice Fraboni
Summary: High sensitivity and efficient X-ray detectors are needed for medical diagnostics and radiotherapy. Recently, lead halide perovskites have been explored as a new material for X-ray detection. However, their low stability has been a challenge. In this study, a stable thin film perovskite X-ray detector was fabricated using starch as a polymeric template. The resulting device showed exceptional stability and achieved a top sensitivity of 5.5 +/- 0.2 mu C Gy(-1) s(-1) without any external bias.
ADVANCED MATERIALS INTERFACES
(2023)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Luca Bondi, Camilla Marzuoli, Edgar Gutierrez-Fernandez, Gabriele Tullii, Jaime Martin, Beatrice Fraboni, David Mecerreyes, Maria Rosa Antognazza, Tobias Cramer
Summary: Recent studies have shown that p-type polymeric semiconductors enable a new type of wireless, optically triggered interface with cells and tissues. Poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT) has been used to create optobioelectronic interfaces, but its use in biomedical in-vivo applications is limited by its optical absorption. This paper compares the performance of P3HT with two low band-gap polymers, PBDB-T and PTB7, commonly used in organic solar cells. The study finds that PTB7 has superior photocurrent generation and hydrogen peroxide photogeneration yield compared to the other two polymers, indicating its potential for development in optically operated bioelectronic interfaces.
ADVANCED ELECTRONIC MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Matteo Verdi, Andrea Ciavatti, Jaime Segura-Ruiz, Laura Basirico, Roberto Sorrentino, Isabel Pinto Goncalves, Annamaria Petrozza, Federico Boscherini, Beatrice Fraboni
Summary: X-ray direct detectors based on hybrid lead-halide perovskite have attracted increasing interest in recent years. The goal of achieving high-performance devices has driven the scientific community to study photoconductor sensors employing functional layers. By using X-ray nanoanalysis, this study investigated the interaction between [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester fullerene (PCBM) molecules and MAPbI(3) polycrystalline thin films acting as photo-conductors in X-ray detectors at the nanoscale level. The results showed that the addition of PCBM enhances both the X-ray sensitivity and the charge collection uniformity, clarifying the role of grain boundaries and charge selecting layers in perovskite films.
ADVANCED ELECTRONIC MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Luca Fabbri, Camilla Bordoni, Pedro Barquinha, Jerome Crocco, Beatrice Fraboni, Tobias Cramer
Summary: The disordered microscopic structure of amorphous semiconductors leads to the formation of band tails in the density of states (DOS), which greatly affect charge transport properties. Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy (KPFM) is a powerful technique to measure the DOS, but lacks a model to interpret KPFM spectroscopy data on amorphous semiconductors of finite thickness. In this study, an analytical solution to the Poisson equation is provided for a metal-insulator-semiconductor junction interacting with the atomic force microscope tip, allowing for the fitting of experimental data and obtaining DOS parameters. This method was demonstrated on Indium-Gallium-Zinc Oxide (IGZO) thin-film transistors (IGZO-TFTs) and showed good agreement with values obtained from photocurrent spectroscopy.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Bas A. H. Huisman, Camilla Bordoni, Andrea Ciavatti, Michele Sessolo, Beatrice Fraboni, Henk J. Bolink
Summary: This paper describes a simple and solvent-free method to fabricate polymer-encapsulated halide perovskite photoconductors. The CsPbBr3 is prepared using a dry mechanochemical synthesis in the presence of poly(butyl methacrylate) (PBMA). The resulting composite powder is then heated and pressed into a free-standing disk, which can be laminated on a glass substrate with interdigitated electrodes to form a planar photoconductor device. The best photoconductive performance is achieved with disks containing 75 wt.% CsPbBr3 in PBMA, reaching a detectivity of & AP;2 x 1011 Jones. Narrowband detectors can be obtained by adjusting the disk thickness. The disks also show potential as absorber materials for X-ray detectors, with low detection limit, fast and linear response.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Adrian Tamayo, Angel Campos-Lendinez, Jose Munoz, Nuria Crivillers, Marta Mas-Torrent
Summary: A robust electrolyte-gated organic field-effect transistor (EGOFET) that can respond to pH in the range of 1-10 is reported. The sensor uses the pH-dependent supramolecular host-guest complexation of imidazole/beta-cyclodextrin to achieve response to different pH substances.
CHEMISTRY OF MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Gabriele Tullii, Edgar Gutierrez-Fernandez, Carlotta Ronchi, Christian Bellacanzone, Luca Bondi, Miryam Criado-Gonzalez, Paola Lagonegro, Francesco Moccia, Tobias Cramer, David Mecerreyes, Jaime Martin, Maria Rosa Antognazza
Summary: Angiogenesis is a critical process in biology, but conventional treatments for pathological angiogenesis have limitations. This study explores the use of nano-sized materials and optical or electrical stimuli to overcome these limitations. The use of conjugated polymer-based nanoparticles as photo-actuators shows promise in enhancing or reducing the angiogenic capability of endothelial cells. These findings provide valuable evidence for a potential paradigm shift in therapeutic angiogenesis.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Angel Campos-Lendinez, Jose Munoz, Nuria Crivillers, Marta Mas-Torrent
Summary: By combining redox molecules and quantum dots, a robust and versatile electrochemical fluorescence switch has been developed, showing great potential in sensing and information storage applications.
ADVANCED OPTICAL MATERIALS
(2023)