The Role of the Oxygen/Water Redox Couple in Suppressing Electron Conduction in Field-Effect Transistors

The suppression of electron (n-type) conduction observed in back-gated field effect transistors is the result of an electrochemical charge transfer process to the oxygen/water layer adsorbed on hydrophilic substrates. The impact of this phenomenon is demonstrated with nanoscale and thin-film carbon nanotube transistors.