Article abstract
Nature Materials 5, 328 - 333 (2006)
doi:10.1038/nmat1612
Subject Categories: Liquid crystals | Semiconductors | Optical, photonic and optoelectronic materials
Liquid-crystalline semiconducting polymers with high charge-carrier mobility
Iain McCulloch1, Martin Heeney1, Clare Bailey1, Kristijonas Genevicius1, Iain MacDonald1, Maxim Shkunov1, David Sparrowe1, Steve Tierney1, Robert Wagner1, Weimin Zhang1, Michael L. Chabinyc2, R. Joseph Kline3, Michael D. McGehee3 and Michael F. Toney4
Abstract
Organic semiconductors that can be fabricated by simple processing techniques and possess excellent electrical performance, are key requirements in the progress of organic electronics. Both high semiconductor charge-carrier mobility, optimized through understanding and control of the semiconductor microstructure, and stability of the semiconductor to ambient electrochemical oxidative processes are required. We report on new semiconducting liquid-crystalline thieno[3,2-b ]thiophene polymers, the enhancement in charge-carrier mobility achieved through highly organized morphology from processing in the mesophase, and the effects of exposure to both ambient and low-humidity air on the performance of transistor devices. Relatively large crystalline domain sizes on the length scale of lithographically accessible channel lengths (
200 nm) were exhibited in thin films, thus offering the potential for fabrication of single-crystal polymer transistors. Good transistor stability under static storage and operation in a low-humidity air environment was demonstrated, with charge-carrier field-effect mobilities of 0.2–0.6 cm2 V-1 s-1 achieved under nitrogen.
- Merck Chemicals, Chilworth Science Park, Southampton S016 7QD, UK
- Palo Alto Research Center, Palo Alto, California 94304, USA
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University, California 94305, USA
- Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, Menlo Park, California 94025, USA
Correspondence to: Iain McCulloch1 e-mail: iain.mcculloch@merckchem.co.uk
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