Versatile Organic Transistors by Solution Processing

A selection of the latest developments in organic electronic materials and organic field-effect transistor (OFET) devices is reviewed here with an emphasis on the synthetic and manufacturing versatility, ease of processing, and low cost offered by solution processability. At the heart of these benefits is the nature of the weak van der Waals intermolecular interactions inherent to organic compounds. This allows processability with a relatively small amount of energy investment. Material solubility, in particular, creates unique pathways for film fabrication and the design of new device architectures, while presenting new manufacturing challenges to explore. In this review we provide a chronological presentation of the important developments in the solution-deposited organic small-molecule semiconductor, dielectric, and electrode materials used in OFETs, making specific note of current benchmarks. Organic device architectures and fabrication methods that are characterized by reduced complexity and ease of implementation are discussed.