Low-voltage polymer monolayer transistors for high-gain unipolar and complementary logic inverters

• Published in: Journal of materials chemistry. C, Materials for optical and electronic devices Materials for optical and electronic devices, 2024-07, Vol.12 (26), p.9562-957
• Main Authors: Cheng, Miao, Zhang, Yanqin, Zheng, Lei, Zhang, Jianwei, Xie, Yifan, Jin, Qingqing, Tian, Yue, Wang, Jinyao, Xiao, Hongmei, Dou, Chunmeng, Yang, Zhenzhong, Li, Mengmeng, Li, Ling, Liu, Ming
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Current leakage; Gallium; High gain; High voltages; Indium gallium zinc oxide; Integrated circuits; Inverters; Leakage current; Logic; Monolayers; Photolithography; Polymer films; Polymers; Power consumption; Semiconductor devices; Thin film transistors; Transistors; Zinc oxide
• ISSN: 2050-7526; 2050-7534
• DOI: 10.1039/d4tc01715c

Cutting-edge integrated circuits based on organic transistors, though promising, encounter a notable obstacle due to their tendency for high power consumption, thereby constraining their broader practical applications. This study demonstrates low-voltage polymer monolayer thin-film transistors (TFTs) and high-gain logic inverters, wherein the utilization of thin films of AlO x as gate dielectrics effectively enhances the gate controllability of TFTs. A photolithography-compatible method using a sacrificial layer is proposed to pattern the polymer monolayer, which significantly reduces off-state and gate leakage currents to 10 −12 A and achieves a steep subthreshold swing of 86 mV dec −1 . These device performances generate a maximum intrinsic gain of 10 4 V/V, enabling the development of zero- V GS -load logic inverters with voltage gains up to 251 V/V at a −3 V operation voltage ( V DD ). Additionally, hybrid complementary inverters by integrating with amorphous indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO) exhibit ultra-high voltage gains of 841 V/V at a V DD of 5 V and 7436 V/V at a V DD of 30 V, potentially setting a new benchmark for logic inverters across various semiconductor systems. These results open new avenues for advancements in low-voltage organic and hybrid logics tailored for portable and wearable electronics. Using thin AlO x as dielectrics, low-voltage polymer monolayer TFTs were attained with a SS of 86 mV dec −1 . The resultant unipolar and complementary inverters exhibited high voltage gains of 251 V/V at V DD = −3 V and 841 V/V at V DD = 5 V.