Sub 10 nm conjugated polymer transistors for chemical sensing

Abstract Chemical sensing responses of polythiophene transistors were investigated with various channel lengths down to sub 10 nm. To eliminate undesirable spreading currents, a novel four-terminal geometry was employed which ensures that the sensor active area is truly nanoscale. For the same analyte–semiconductor combination, the nanoscale devices exhibited drastically different responses compared with larger scale devices. In general, the nanoscale transistors experienced an increase in drain current upon exposure to analytes such as 1-pentanol and vanillin, whereas the larger devices showed a decrease. The chemical sensing mechanisms in both microscale and nanoscale transistors are briefly discussed.

[1]  A. Dodabalapur,et al.  Pentacene field-effect transistors with sub-10-nm channel lengths , 2004 .

[2]  Ping Liu,et al.  High-performance semiconducting polythiophenes for organic thin-film transistors. , 2004, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[3]  Fabrication of nanometer-spaced electrodes using gold nanoparticles , 2002, cond-mat/0211213.

[4]  Zhenan Bao,et al.  Soluble and processable regioregular poly(3‐hexylthiophene) for thin film field‐effect transistor applications with high mobility , 1996 .

[5]  Takao Someya,et al.  Vapor sensing with α,ω-dihexylquarterthiophene field-effect transistors: The role of grain boundaries , 2002 .

[6]  Henrique L. Gomes,et al.  Bias-induced threshold voltages shifts in thin-film organic transistors , 2004 .

[7]  Zhenan Bao,et al.  Electronic sensing of vapors with organic transistors , 2001 .

[8]  Tian-An Chen,et al.  Regiocontrolled Synthesis of Poly(3-alkylthiophenes) Mediated by Rieke Zinc: Their Characterization and Solid-State Properties , 1995 .

[9]  A. Gelperin,et al.  Correlation between Oligothiophene Thin Film Transistor Morphology and Vapor Responses , 2002 .

[10]  H. Sirringhaus,et al.  Integrated optoelectronic devices based on conjugated polymers , 1998, Science.

[11]  Adele Sassella,et al.  Regioregular polythiophene field-effect transistors employed as chemical sensors , 2003 .

[12]  Ananth Dodabalapur,et al.  Nanoscale chemical sensor based on organic thin-film transistors , 2004 .

[13]  Dago M. de Leeuw,et al.  Bias-stress induced instability of organic thin film transistors , 1999 .

[14]  Nicola Cioffi,et al.  Side-Chain Role in Chemically Sensing Conducting Polymer Field-Effect Transistors , 2003 .

[15]  George G. Malliaras,et al.  Humidity sensors based on pentacene thin-film transistors , 2002 .

[16]  Jiang,et al.  Two-dimensional electronic excitations in self-assembled conjugated polymer nanocrystals , 2000, Science.

[17]  Nicola Cioffi,et al.  Alkoxy-substituted polyterthiophene thin-film-transistors as alcohol sensors , 2004 .