Ultrahigh-gain organic transistors based on van der Waals metal-barrier interlayer-semiconductor junction

Shuguang Wang; Lei Han; Ye Zou; Bingyao Liu; Zhi-Hao He; Yinan Huang; Zhongwu Wang; Lei Zheng; Yong-Xu Hu; Qiang Zhao; Yajing Sun; Zhi-Qing Li; Peng Gao; Xiaosong Chen; Xiaojun Guo; Liqiang Li; Wenping Hu

doi:10.1126/sciadv.adj4656

Ultrahigh-gain organic transistors based on van der Waals metal-barrier interlayer-semiconductor junction

Sci Adv. 2023 Dec 8;9(49):eadj4656. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adj4656. Epub 2023 Dec 6.

Authors

Shuguang Wang¹, Lei Han², Ye Zou³, Bingyao Liu⁴, Zhi-Hao He⁵, Yinan Huang¹, Zhongwu Wang¹, Lei Zheng¹, Yong-Xu Hu¹, Qiang Zhao⁶, Yajing Sun¹, Zhi-Qing Li⁵, Peng Gao^{4

7}, Xiaosong Chen¹, Xiaojun Guo², Liqiang Li^{1

8

9}, Wenping Hu^{1

8

9

10}

Affiliations

¹ Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Optoelectronic Sciences, Department of Chemistry, Institute of Molecular Aggregation Science, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China.
² School of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.
³ Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.
⁴ Electron Microscopy Laboratory and International Center for Quantum Materials, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
⁵ Department of Physics, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Low Dimensional Materials Physics and Preparing Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China.
⁶ College of Science, Civil Aviation University of China (CAUC), Tianjin 300300, China.
⁷ Collaborative Innovation Center of Quantum Matter, Beijing 100871, China.
⁸ Haihe Laboratory of Sustainable Chemical Transformations, Tianjin 300192, China.
⁹ Joint School of National University of Singapore and Tianjin University, International Campus of Tianjin University, Fuzhou 350207, China.
¹⁰ Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering, Tianjin 300072, China.

Abstract

Intrinsic gain is a vital figure of merit in transistors, closely related to signal amplification, operation voltage, power consumption, and circuit simplification. However, organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) targeted at high gain have suffered from challenges such as narrow subthreshold operating voltage, low-quality interface, and uncontrollable barrier. Here, we report a van der Waals metal-barrier interlayer-semiconductor junction-based OTFT, which shows ultrahigh performance including ultrahigh gain of ~10⁴, low saturation voltage, negligible hysteresis, and good stability. The high-quality van der Waals-contacted junctions are mainly attributed to patterning EGaIn liquid metal electrodes by low-energy microfluidic processes. The wide-bandgap semiconductor Ga₂O₃ as barrier interlayer is achieved by in situ surface oxidation of EGaIn electrodes, allowing for an adjustable barrier height and expected thermionic emission properties. The organic inverters with a high gain of 5130 and a simplified current stabilizer are further demonstrated, paving a way for high-gain and low-power organic electronics.