Origin of mechanical strain sensitivity of pentacene thin-film transistors

We report on bending strain-induced changes of the charge carrier mobility in pentacene organic thin-film transistors employing a combined investigation of morphological, structural, and electrical properties. The observed drain current variations are reversible if the deformation is below 2%. The morphology and structure of the active pentacene layer is investigated by scanning force microscopy and specular synchrotron X-ray diffraction, which show that bending-stress causes morphological rather than structural changes, modifying essentially the lateral spacing between individual pentacene crystallites. In addition, for deformations >2% the rupture of source and drain gold electrodes is observed. In contrast to the metal electrodes, the modification of the organic layer remains reversible for deformations up to 10%, which suggests the use of soft and flexible electrodes such as graphene or conducting polymers to be beneficial for future strain sensing devices. Crown Copyright (C) 2013 Published by Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.