Patterning an Erosion-Free Polymeric Semiconductor Channel for Reliable All-Photolithography Organic Electronics

Reliable patterning of organic semiconductors (OSCs) with high uniformity is essential to all-photolithography organic electronics. However, the majority of cross-linked OSCs experience performance fluctuations after photolithography because of the inherent vulnerability of low-ordered regions. Herein, we develop an anti-solution penetration photolithography process to achieve the reliable patterning of the OSC layer for all-photolithography integrated organic electronics. Using a thick and highly cross-linked semiconductor film and a low-solubility developer, an erosion-free semiconductor channel is obtained with a high mobility of up to 1.254 cm² V^-1 s^-1 and a uniform threshold voltage close to zero. Compared with existing all-photolithography organic circuits, the unit logic gate area consumption is lower by 1-3 orders of magnitude at 0.0069 mm², while the transistor density is higher by 1-2 orders of magnitude at 6780 Tr cm^-2. The miniaturized organic inverters maintain uncompromised voltage gains, and the 15-stage organic ring oscillators feature higher oscillation frequencies, making them promising for applications in wide-ranging integrated organic circuits.