Improving organic thin-film transistor performance through solvent-vapor annealing of solution-processable triethylsilylethynyl anthradithiophene

A straightforward, one-step solvent-vapor-annealing process was used to improve the electrical properties of a solution-processable, p-type organic semiconductor, triethylsilylethnyl anthradithiophene (TES ADT). A bottom-contact thin-film transistors (TFT) on silicon, on which TES ADT was built and tested, on which TES ADt was directly spin-coated. The highly doped silicon served as a common gate electrode for all the transistors on the same chip, and the thermally grown silicon-dioxide served as the gate dielectric. Gold source and drain electrodes were defined on the dielectric surface using electron -beam evaporation through a shadow mask. The effects of solvent-vapor-annealing process with TES ADT of varying polarity was also examined. It was observed that the solvent vapor was able to penetrate the organic semiconductor thin films.