Organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) have lived to see great improvements in recent years. This review presents new insight into conduction mechanisms and performance characteristics, as well as opportunities for modeling properties of OTFTs. The shifted focus in research from novel chemical structures to fabrication technologies that optimize morphology and structural order is underscored by chapters on vacuum-deposited and solution-processed organic semiconducting films. Finally, progress in the growing field of the n-type OTFTs is discussed in ample detail. The Figure, showing a pentacene film edge on SiO2, illustrates the morphology issue.

Organic Thin Film Transistors for Large Area Electronics

2.2. Materials 929 2.3. Factors Influencing Charge Mobility 931 2.3.1. Molecular Packing 931 2.3.2. Disorder 932 2.3.3. Temperature 933 2.3.4. Electric Field 934 2.3.5. Impurities 934 2.3.6. Pressure 934 2.3.7. Charge-Carrier Density 934 2.3.8. Size/molecular Weight 935 3. The Charge-Transport Parameters 935 3.1. Electronic Coupling 936 3.1.1. The Energy-Splitting-in-Dimer Method 936 3.1.2. The Orthogonality Issue 937 3.1.3. Impact of the Site Energy 937 3.1.4. Electronic Coupling in Oligoacene Derivatives 938

Charge transport in organic semiconductors.

Since the discovery of highly conducting polyacetylene by Shirakawa, MacDiarmid, and Heeger in 1977, π-conjugated systems have attracted much attention as futuristic materials for the development and production of the next generation of electronics, that is, organic electronics. Conceptually, organic electronics are quite different from conventional inorganic solid state electronics because the structural versatility of organic semiconductors allows for the incorporation of functionality by molecular design. This versatility leads to a new era in the design of electronic devices. To date, the great number of π-conjugated semiconducting materials that have either been discovered or synthesized generate an exciting library of π-conjugated systems for use in organic electronics. 11 However, some key challenges for further advancement remain: the low mobility and stability of organic semiconductors, the lack of knowledge regarding structure property relationships for understanding the fundamental chemical aspects behind the structural design, and realization of desired properties. Organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) are a kind of device consisting of an organic semiconducting layer, a gate insulator layer, and three terminals (drain, source, and gate electrodes). OFETs are not only essential building blocks for the next generation of cheap and flexible organic circuits, but they also provide an important insight into the charge transport of πconjugated systems. Therefore, they act as strong tools for the exploration of the structure property relationships of πconjugated systems, such as parameters of field-effect mobility (μ, the drift velocity of carriers under unit electric field), current on/off ratio (the ratio of the maximum on-state current to the minimum off-state current), and threshold voltage (the minimum gate voltage that is required to turn on the transistor). 17 Since the discovery of OFETs in the 1980s, they have attracted much attention. Research onOFETs includes the discovery, design, and synthesis of π-conjugated systems for OFETs, device optimization, development of applications in radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, flexible displays, electronic papers, sensors, and so forth. It is beyond the scope of this review to cover all aspects of π-conjugated systems; hence, our focus will be on the performance analysis of π-conjugated systems in OFETs. This should make it possible to extract information regarding the fundamental merit of semiconducting π-conjugated materials and capture what is needed for newmaterials and what is the synthesis orientation of newπ-conjugated systems. In fact, for a new science with many practical applications, the field of organic electronics is progressing extremely rapidly. For example, using “organic field effect transistor” or “organic field effect transistors” as the query keywords to search the Web of Science citation database, it is possible to show the distribution of papers over recent years as shown in Figure 1A. It is very clear

Semiconducting π-conjugated systems in field-effect transistors: a material odyssey of organic electronics.

Organic semiconducting oligomers for use in thin film transistors.

Tetrathiafulvalenes, oligoacenenes, and their buckminsterfullerene derivatives: the brick and mortar of organic electronics.

N‐channel field effect transistors with excellent device characteristics have been fabricated by utilizing C60 as the active element. Measurements on C60 thin films in ultrahigh vacuum show on‐off ratios as high as 106 and field effect mobilities up to 0.08 cm2/V s.

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C60 thin film transistors

Sublimation of 1,2,3,5-dithiadiazolyl in vacuo affords a triclinic phase of the dimer [HCN2S2]2. The crystals belong to the space group P¯1, a = 6.816(3), b = 13.940(2), c = 14.403(3) A, α = 116.830(14), β = 98.64(3), γ = 99.18(3)°, FW = 212.4 (for [HCN2S2]2·[N2]0.08) Z = 6. The crystal structure consists of stacked dimers, with three dimers per asymmetric unit. Pairs of asymmetric units, related by an inversion center, generate a pinwheel motif consisting of six dimers. The columnar structure associated with these pinwheels forms close-packed sets of “molecular tubes”. Cosublimation of the radical in the presence of iodine in the mole ratio (HCN2S2:I = 5:1) yields an iodine-doped hexagonal phase of composition [HCN2S2]6[I]1.1. Crystals of this material belong to the space group P61, a = b = 14.132(16), c = 3.352(5) A, FW = 128.20, Z = 6. The crystal structure consists of sixfold pinwheels in which the now evenly spaced HCN2S2 rings form a spiral about the 61 axis. The iodine atoms lie within the columnar cavity of the pinwheels in a disordered array wrapped tightly about the sixfold screw axis. The single-crystal conductivity of the doped material is 15 S cm-1 at room temperature. Raman spectroscopic and magnetic susceptibility measurements on the doped material are reported.

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Molecular Conductors from Neutral-Radical Charge-Transfer Salts: Preparation and Characterization of an Iodine-Doped Hexagonal Phase of 1,2,3,5-Dithiadiazolyl ([HCN2S2]∙)

Cosublimation of 1,3- and 1,4-benzene-bis(1,2,3,5-dithiadiazolyl) and iodine/bromine affords crystals of the mixed valence salts 1,3- and 1,4-[(S2N2C)C6H4(CN2S2)][X] (X = I, Br). The crystal structures of the two iodide salts consist of perfectly superimposed stacks of molecular units with interannular spacing along the stacks of 3.487(3) and 3.415(2) A, for the 1,3- and 1,4-derivatives. In both compounds the iodines are disordered along the stacking direction. The 1,3-derivative has a highly one-dimensional structure; there are no short intercolumnar S-S interactions. In the 1,4-derivative, however, lateral S-S contacts of 3.911 A, afford some measure of three-dimensionality. The bromide salt of the 1,4-derivative consists of ribbons of alternating 1,4-[(S2N2C)C6H4(CN2S2)]+ units and bromide ions. Within each molecule one heterocyclic ring is closed shell, i.e., a [CN2S2]+ cation, while the other is a discrete radical. The ribbons are layered in zigzag fashion that maximizes ion pairing and isolates the radical centers. The bromide salt of the 1,3-derivative also forms ribbon-like arrays, but the unit cell repeat consists of four layers of ribbons. Within these layers the [CN2S2] rings are approximately stacked. The four rings within the repeat unit along each stack consists of three rings clustered into a trimeric [CN2S2]3+ cation, while the remaining ring is a discrete [CN2S2]+ cation. Magnetic susceptibility and conductivity measurements on the two iodide salts indicate weakly metallic behavior at room temperature, with a charge density wave (CDW) driven metal-insulator phase transition occurring near 270 and 190 K for the 1,3- and 1,4-derivatives, respectively. For the 1,4-derivative, analysis of the CDW wavevector associated with the transition affords a degree of charge transfer of 1/4 of electron per radical, i.e., an overall formulation of [(S2N2C)C6H4(CN2S2)]0.5+[I]0.5-. The bromide salt of the 1,3-derivative is a closed shell insulator, while in the 1,4-bromide the isolated radical centers are antiferromagnetically coupled.

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Charge Transfer Salts of Benzene-Bridged 1,2,3,5-Dithiadiazolyl Diradicals. Preparation, Structures, and Transport Properties of 1,3- and 1,4-[(S2N2C)C6H4(CN2S2)][X] (X = I, Br)

A.S. Perel

Papers

C60 thin film transistors

Molecular Conductors from Neutral-Radical Charge-Transfer Salts: Preparation and Characterization of an Iodine-Doped Hexagonal Phase of 1,2,3,5-Dithiadiazolyl ([HCN2S2]∙)

Charge Transfer Salts of Benzene-Bridged 1,2,3,5-Dithiadiazolyl Diradicals. Preparation, Structures, and Transport Properties of 1,3- and 1,4-[(S2N2C)C6H4(CN2S2)][X] (X = I, Br)