Nonvolatile memory characteristics of organic thin film transistors using poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate)-based polymer multilayer dielectric

A wide hysteresis width characteristic (memory window) was observed in the organic thin film transistors (OTFTs) using poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA)-based polymer multilayers. In this study, a strong memory effect was also found in the pentacene-based OTFTs and the electric characteristics were improved by introducing PHEMA/poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)/PHEMA trilayer to replace the conventional PHEMA monolayer or PMMA/PHEMA and PHEMA/PMMA bilayer as the dielectric layers of OTFTs. The memory effect was originated from the electron trapping and slow polarization of the dielectrics. The hydroxyl (-OH) groups inside the polymer dielectric were the main charge storage sites of the electrons. This charge-storage phenomenon could lead to a wide flat-band voltage shift (memory window, Delta V-FB = 22 V) which is essential for the OTFTs' memory-related applications. Moreover, the fabricated transistors also exhibited significant switchable channel current due to the charge-storage and slow charge relaxation. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3647976]