Microstructure engineering of polymer semiconductor thin films for high-performance field-effect transistors using a bi-component processing solution

Abstract

Solution processability is one of the main reasons for developing polymer-based organic field-effect transistors (FETs) in the application of large-area, flexible and low-cost electronics. During the deposition process, the solvent action could exert a great influence on the self-assembly of polymers and the morphology of films, thus determining the FET performance. In this work, a bi-component solvent system composed of chloroform and dichlorobenzene was employed in the spin-coating process to fabricate bottom-gate bottom-contact FET devices. Dichlorobenzene could exhibit strong dispersive interactions to dissolve the polymers, while chloroform is less effective in solvating the polymers. By altering the ratios of the bi-component solvents, enhanced mobilities were achieved from PTD-10-TVT. This method has also proven to be effective in promoting the performance of other polymer semiconductors. Our work provides an effective method for obtaining high charge carrier mobilities in solution-processable polymer-based FET devices.