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Organic electronics

A new path for organic electrochemical transistors

Nature Reviews Electrical Engineering volume 1, page 148 (2024)Cite this article

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Since their first demonstration 40 years ago as ‘interfacial chemical systems with specific functions’, organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) have garnered attention for potential applications in biosensors, wearable electronics, and, more recently, neuromorphic devices. These applications leverage the unique properties of OECTs, such as low driving voltages, excellent amplification and sensing capabilities, structural versatility, and compatibility with high-throughput fabrication. Moreover, the introduction of vertically stacked OECT (vOECT) architectures has resolved some open issues related to temporal and operational stability, slow redox processes, and non-balanced performance between p-type and n-type devices. Nevertheless, technological hurdles in scalable patterning and efficient integration still hinder OECTs from being used in advanced bioelectronics and state-of-the-art electronics.

The eBL-based patterning approach offers three key advantages: (1) maskless semiconductor patterning without chemical waste; (2) ultra-small and high-density vOECTs can be fabricated caused by the high-resolution of e-beam exposure; and (3) multilayer integration capability due to planarized OSC films. The resulting vOECTs matrix arrays demonstrated transconductances ranging from 0.08 to 1.7 S, transient times below 100 µs, densities up to ~7.2 million OECTs per cm², and operational stabilities exceeding 100,000 cycles, suitable for monolithic integration into complex circuits — a considerable leap forward compared with previous techniques reliant on etching that limited circuit density and functionality. Both p- and n-type patterned devices achieved maximum drain currents at low gate voltages and high transconductances, while significantly reducing off-currents and crosstalk — crucial for minimizing power consumption in dense OECT arrays. Moreover, the arrays show good stability under mechanical stress.

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References

Original articles

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  1. Nature Reviews Electrical Engineering https://www.nature.com/natrevelectreng/

    Silvia Conti

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  1. Silvia Conti
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Correspondence to Silvia Conti.

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This text on an editorially selected paper was initially drafted using artificial intelligence, and then fact-checked and improved by an editor to meet Springer Nature publication standards.

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Conti, S. A new path for organic electrochemical transistors. Nat Rev Electr Eng 1, 148 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44287-024-00036-7

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