Polymer-Gated Transistors with Only One Solution-Processed, Single Crystalline Organic Microwire for Light and Oxygen...

Organic semiconductors employed in single crystalline form have several advantages over polycrystalline films, such as higher charge carrier mobility and better environmental stability. Herein, we report the fabrication and characterization of a solution-processed microsized single-crystalline organic wire of n-type N,N'-dipentyl-3,4,9,10-perylene tetracarboxylic diimide (PTCDI-C₅). The crystal was applied as an active layer in polymer-gated organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) and organic complementary inverter circuits. The single crystaiiline nature of PTCDI-C₅ wires were characterized using two-dimensional grazing incidence wide-angle X-ray diffraction (2D-GIXD) and polarized optical microscopy. OFETs with the PTCDI-C₅ crystals exhibited high n-type performance and air stability under ambient conditions. To investigate the electrical properties of the single-crystalline PTCDI-C₅ wire more precisely, OFETs with only one PTCDI-C₅ microwire in the channel were fabricated, and clear n-type characteristics with satisfactory saturation behavior were observed. The device with only one crystal wire exhibited characteristics with significantly lower variation compared to the multicrystal devices, which shows that the density of crystal wires is a critical factor in precisely investigating device performance. The devices exhibited a reversible threshold voltage shift under vacuum and oxygen conditions, without changing the charge carrier mobility. Light-sensitive characteristics were also observed. Additionally, this solution-processed, highly crystalline organic semiconductor can be used in high-performance organic electronic circuits as well as in gas or light sensors.