Enabling discrimination capability in an achiral F6BT-based organic semiconductor transistor via circularly polarized light induction

Abstract

Circularly polarized light (CPL) is now playing an important role in photonics, spintronics and quantum information, the development of which has proposed higher requirements for CPL photodetectors. Direct CPL detection using the intrinsic response of chiral media in the active layers of the photodetectors has a comparative advantage in their integration and miniaturization, and it has been tackled using various chiral materials, while polymers are rarely employed, let alone achiral compounds. Herein, taking the advantage of the chirality induction of achiral fluorene-alt-benzothiadiazole-based conjugated polymers, we first proposed and experimentally demonstrated a novel achiral organic semiconductor-based direct CPL photodetector. The circular polarization discrimination capability of the organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) could be enabled by means of external irradiation of CPL without any use of chiral additives, and the circular polarization sense of the devices could be rigorously controlled by the handedness of inducing light. This approach would provide a set of design rules and promote the development of direct CPL photodetectors.