Enhancement of carrier mobility in all-inkjet-printed organic thin-film transistors using a blend of poly(3-hexylthiophene) and carbon nanoparticles

• Published in: Thin solid films 2011-09, Vol.519 (22), p.8008-8012
• Main Authors: Lin, Chih-Ting, Hsu, Chun-Hao, Chen, Iu-Ren, Lee, Chang-Hung, Wu, Wen-Jung
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Carbon; Carrier mobility; Condensed matter: structure, mechanical and thermal properties; Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science; rheology; Devices; Diffraction; Electronics; Exact sciences and technology; Inkjet printing; Materials science; Methods of nanofabrication; Nanoparticles; Nanoscale materials and structures: fabrication and characterization; Organic thin film transistor; Other topics in nanoscale materials and structures; Physics; Poly(3-hexylthiophene); Semiconducting blends; Semiconductor devices; Semiconductor electronics. Microelectronics. Optoelectronics. Solid state devices; Structure and morphology; thickness; Surfaces and interfaces; thin films and whiskers (structure and nonelectronic properties); Thin film structure and morphology; Thin films; Transistors
• ISSN: 0040-6090; 1879-2731
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tsf.2011.05.071

To enhance the carrier mobility of all-inkjet-printed organic thin film transistors, we fabricated devices that incorporated poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and carbon nanoparticles (CNPs). The fabricated devices had an on/off ratio of 10 4, which is one order less than that of pristine organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs). The maximum carrier mobility as high as 0.053 cm 2/V-s was achieved for a CNP/P3HT weight–weight ratio of 7/100. This degree of mobility is 10 times greater than average mobility of pristine P3HT-OTFTs. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy images reveal that the carrier mobility was enhanced by reducing the injection barrier and enhancing the carrier injection. This work demonstrates the feasibility of all-inkjet-printed OTFT technology.