ORGANIC ELECTRONICS

OPTIMIZATION OF ORGANIC THIN-FILM TRANSISTORS FOR PLASTIC ELECTRONICS: TOWARDS TRANSPARENT COMPONENTS IN NEW DEVICES

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'Transparent electronics is an emerging new technology which utilizes “invisible” electronic and optoelectronics circuits. To obtain these circuits, the transistor building blocks materials: semiconductor, gate dielectric and conductor must be optically transparent, raising a true grand challenge. The great problem is that conventional organic semiconductors strongly absorb in the visible and few exhibit acceptable TFT performance when processed from solution. This makes clear that there are great opportunities to develop high-performance materials for the fabrication of optically transparent, mechanically flexible optoelectronics. The main goals of this project are: - Develop high-performance, solution-processable, optically transparent organic semiconductor and dielectric materials. - Establish/implement solution deposition/printing processes to achieve multilayers materials deposition with high resolution. - Enable fully transparent, flexible, solution-processed organic TFTs and circuits. - Enable transparent displays. - Analyze the key parameters determining the TFT response. To achieve these tasks, we will carry out these technical goals: - Synthesize and/or optimise new high band-gap molecular and polymeric semiconductors based on rylene, oligothiophene and dicyanomethylene-containing cores. - Functionalize high-purity single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) with semiconducting surfactants. - Optimize formulations for solution deposition, focusing on spin-coating and ink-jet printing. - Optimization of layer-by-layer self-assembled nanodielectrics (SANDs) to enhance transparency. - Print crosslinked polymeric dielectric materials on optically transparent substrates. - Evaluate materials performance in various TFT structures on glass substrates. - Characterize spectroscopically and quantum-chemically semiconductors and gate dielectrics. In my work programme, partial objectives can also constitute research items themselves, opening new'

Introduzione (Teaser)

The future of the electronics industry, particularly consumer electronics, may well be miniaturised, flexible and transparent devices. EU-funded scientists are making progress toward developing the appropriate transistors.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

Transparent devices rely on essentially invisible electronic and optoelectronic circuits. In order to have invisible circuitry, one must have optically transparent thin-film transistors (TFTs). Conventional semiconductor materials and technology are not easily adapted to such applications.

Traditional organic semiconductors usually absorb light in the visible range of the electromagnetic spectrum, making them visible to the naked eye. In addition, their performance is inhibited when processed from a solution as is necessary to produce low-cost electronics.

European scientists set out to develop new materials and their processing methods for fabrication of transparent electronics and displays with EU funding of the Organic Electronics project.

To date, scientists have developed new materials tested in organic thin-film transistor (OTFT) architectures. Theoretical (density-functional-theory, DFT) calculations have greatly enhanced experimental results.

Researchers have achieved organic semi-conducting structures including nanowires and carbon nanotubes (CNTs), and tested the most promising materials in TFT structures. The structures demonstrate electrical performance (charge carrier mobility) competitive with that of state-of-the-art materials, among the highest of those reported in the literature.

Continued work promises to push the frontiers of flexible, transparent electronics with optimisation of materials and processing technology for superior-performance, transparent TFTs.