Low-voltage and high-gain pentacene inverters with plasma-enhanced atomic-layer-deposited gate dielectrics

The pentacene thin-film transistors with the plasma-enhanced atomic-layer-deposited 150 nm thick Al2O3 or 120 nm thick ZrO2 have been operated at gate voltages between -3 and 3 V. The inverter with a ZrO2 gate dielectric shows a gain of 49 and a full swing from supply voltage (V-dd) to 0 V, operating at input voltages (V-in) from 0 to -1 V and at V-dd of -1 V. The hysteresis observed in the voltage transfer characteristic of the inverter depends on the scan range of V-in applied to the driver transistor, regardless of the V-dd applied to the load transistor.