ESD Breakdown of Parylene OFETs With Varying Contact Overlap Capacitance

We examine the electrostatic discharge (ESD) behavior of bottom-gate bottom-contact pentacene organic field-effect transistor (OFET) deviceswith a parylene-C gate dielectric. A comparison between devices with gate and contact overlap geometries of -2 to 3 mu m are analyzed. In particular, the relationship between contact overlap, the protective effect of the increased overlap, and the electric field in the dielectric and their effect on ESD resilience is detailed. We find a markedly increased tolerance for negative contact overlaps and a small decrease in tolerance for more positive overlaps. We also report on a highly resilient effect where OFET devices continue to operate but with a reduction in performance after multiple dielectric breakdown. A negative overlap length should be carefully considered when designing OFET devices in a tradeoff between decreased performance and higher ESD resilience.

Automated summary

This study extensively examines the relationship between contact overlap, protective effect, electric field, and ESD resilience in bottom-gate bottom-contact pentacene organic field-effect transistor (OFET) devices. The research shows a significant increase in tolerance with negative contact overlaps, and a slight decrease with more positive overlaps. Careful consideration should be given to negative overlap lengths when designing OFET devices to balance decreased performance and increased ESD resilience.