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Zohaib M, Afzal T, Zahir Iqbal M, Almutairi BS, Ali Raza M, Maqsood MF, Raza MA, Riaz S, Naseem S, Iqbal MJ. Role of time-dependent foreign molecules bonding in the degradation mechanism of polymer field-effect transistors in ambient conditions. R Soc Open Sci 2023; 10:221272. [PMID: 37325589 PMCID: PMC10265018 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.221272] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2022] [Accepted: 05/16/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Long-standing research efforts have enabled the widespread introduction of organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) in next-generation technologies. Concurrently, environmental and operational stability is the major bottleneck in commercializing OFETs. The underpinning mechanism behind these instabilities is still elusive. Here we demonstrate the effect of ambient air on the performance of p-type polymer field-effect transistors. After exposure to ambient air, the device showed significant variations in performance parameters for around 30 days, and then relatively stable behaviour was observed. Two competing mechanisms influencing environmental stability are the diffusion of moisture and oxygen in the metal-organic interface and the active organic layer of the OFET. We measured the time-dependent contact and channel resistances to probe which mechanism is dominant. We found that the dominant role in the degradation of the device stability is the channel resistance rather than the contact resistance. Through time-dependent Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis, we systematically prove that moisture and oxygen cause performance variation in OFETs. FTIR spectra revealed that water and oxygen interact with the polymer chain and perturb its conjugation, thus resulting in degraded performance of the device upon prolonged exposure to ambient air. Our results are important in addressing the environmental instability of organic devices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muhammad Zohaib
- Centre of Excellence in Solid State Physics, University of the Punjab, Quaid-e-Azam Campus, Lahore 54590, Pakistan
| | - Tahmina Afzal
- Centre of Excellence in Solid State Physics, University of the Punjab, Quaid-e-Azam Campus, Lahore 54590, Pakistan
| | - M. Zahir Iqbal
- Nanotechnology Research Laboratory, Faculty of Engineering Sciences, GIK Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology, Topi-23640, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
| | - Badriah S. Almutairi
- Department of Physics, College of Science, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mohsin Ali Raza
- Department of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, Universityof the Punjab, Lahore-54590, Pakistan
| | - Muhammad Faheem Maqsood
- Department of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, Universityof the Punjab, Lahore-54590, Pakistan
| | - M. Akram Raza
- Centre of Excellence in Solid State Physics, University of the Punjab, Quaid-e-Azam Campus, Lahore 54590, Pakistan
| | - Saira Riaz
- Centre of Excellence in Solid State Physics, University of the Punjab, Quaid-e-Azam Campus, Lahore 54590, Pakistan
| | - Shahzad Naseem
- Centre of Excellence in Solid State Physics, University of the Punjab, Quaid-e-Azam Campus, Lahore 54590, Pakistan
| | - M. Javaid Iqbal
- Centre of Excellence in Solid State Physics, University of the Punjab, Quaid-e-Azam Campus, Lahore 54590, Pakistan
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