Effect of dielectric/organic interface properties on charge transport in organic thin film transistors

Charge carrier transport within the organic thin films as well as charge carrier injection between organic layers and organic/inorganic materials such as metal or dielectric layers are crucial factors in determining the efficiency of organic electronic devices. These parameters rely largely on the molecular structure, morphology, and ordering of the organic thin films. Therefore, a profound understanding of the structure of organic materials as well as the properties of the interfacial layers is crucial to enhance the performance of the device. To achieve this fact, structure and morphology of PTCDI-C8 and pentacene thin films on Lithium Fluoride (LiF) have been studied using X-ray reflectivity technique. These films have been integrated into organic thin film transistors (OTFTs) to investigate their transport properties. The structural characterization revealed that the PTCDI-C8 films form an ordered structure on the LiF dielectric layer. Devices with LiF/PTCDI-C8 bilayer exhibit about one order of magnitude higher output current (I-ds) at a constant drain-source voltage (V-ds) compared to the devices with LiF/pentacene bilayer. The observed differences in the electrical characteristics of these devices can be attributed to the effects of the dielectric/organic interface and the molecular structure of the organic layers. The results of this study present the importance of the dielectric/organic interfaces in the performance of OTFTs. (C) 2013 American Institute of Physics.