Environmental and operational stability of solution-processed 6,13-bis(triisopropyl-silylethynyl) pentacene thin film transistors

We report operational and environmental stability of solution-processed organic thin film transistors (OTFTs) using the small molecule organic semiconductor 6,13-bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl) pentacene (TIPS-pentacene). Typical drop-cast TIPS-pentacene OTFTs show strong molecular ordering and relatively stable characteristics with air and illumination compared to vapor-deposited pentacene OTFTs. For short channel length devices, TIPS-pentacene OTFTs undergo significant degradation with bias-stress, possibly due to operation at large drive currents and large local power dissipation as well as built-in charges in the channel area. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.