Directly Patterning Conductive Polymer Electrodes on Organic Semiconductor via In Situ Polymerization in Microchannels for High-Performance Organic Transistors

Conductive polymers are considered promising electrode materials for organic transistors, but the reported devices with conductive polymer electrodes generally suffer from considerable contact resistance. Currently, it is still highly challenging to pattern conductive polymer electrodes on organic semiconductor surfaces with good structure and interface quality. Herein, we develop an in situ polymerization strategy to directly pattern the top-contacted polypyrrole (PPy) electrodes on hydrophobic surfaces of organic semiconductors by microchannel templates, which is also applicable on diverse hydrophobic and hydrophilic surfaces. Remarkably, a width-normalized contact resistance as low as 1.01 k Omega.cm is achieved in the PPy-contacted transistors. Both p-type and n-type organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) exhibit ideal electrical characteristics, including almost hysteresis-free, low threshold voltage, and good stability under long-term test. The facile patterning method and high device performance indicate that the in situ polymerization strategy in confined microchannels has application prospects in all-organic, transparent, and flexible electronics.

Automated summary

The in situ polymerization strategy is developed to pattern conductive polymer electrodes on organic semiconductor surfaces, achieving low contact resistance. The devices fabricated using this method show ideal electrical characteristics, such as almost hysteresis-free, low threshold voltage, and good stability under long-term test. The facile patterning method and high device performance indicate potential applications in all-organic, transparent, and flexible electronics.