Polymer Research Institute, Department of Chemical Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology , Pohang, North Gyeongsang 790-784, Republic of Korea.
Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Korea National University of Transportation , Chungju, North Chungcheong, Republic of Korea.
ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2016 Mar 2;8(8):5499-508. doi: 10.1021/acsami.6b00259. Epub 2016 Feb 16.
Complementary inverters consisting of p-type organic and n-type metal oxide semiconductors have received considerable attention as key elements for realizing low-cost and large-area future electronics. Solution-processed ZnO thin-film transistors (TFTs) have great potential for use in hybrid complementary inverters as n-type load transistors because of the low cost of their fabrication process and natural abundance of active materials. The integration of a single ZnO TFT into an inverter requires the development of a simple patterning method as an alternative to conventional time-consuming and complicated photolithography techniques. In this study, we used a photocurable polymer precursor, zinc acrylate (or zinc diacrylate, ZDA), to conveniently fabricate photopatternable ZnO thin films for use as the active layers of n-type ZnO TFTs. UV-irradiated ZDA thin films became insoluble in developing solvent as the acrylate moiety photo-cross-linked; therefore, we were able to successfully photopattern solution-processed ZDA thin films using UV light. We studied the effects of addition of a tiny amount of indium dopant on the transistor characteristics of the photopatterned ZnO thin films and demonstrated low-voltage operation of the ZnO TFTs within ±3 V by utilizing Al2O3/TiO2 laminate thin films or ion-gels as gate dielectrics. By combining the ZnO TFTs with p-type pentacene TFTs, we successfully fabricated organic/inorganic hybrid complementary inverters using solution-processed and photopatterned ZnO TFTs.
互补型逆变器由 p 型有机半导体和 n 型金属氧化物半导体组成，由于其制造工艺成本低廉且活性材料丰富，因此作为实现低成本、大面积未来电子器件的关键元件受到了广泛关注。由于其制造工艺成本低廉且活性材料丰富，溶液处理的 ZnO 薄膜晶体管（TFT）在作为 n 型负载晶体管的混合互补逆变器中具有很大的应用潜力。将单个 ZnO TFT 集成到逆变器中需要开发一种简单的图案化方法，以替代传统耗时且复杂的光刻技术。在这项研究中，我们使用了可光固化的聚合物前体，即丙烯酸锌（或二丙烯酸锌，ZDA），方便地制备了可光图案化的 ZnO 薄膜，用作 n 型 ZnO TFT 的有源层。由于丙烯酸酯部分发生光交联，因此经 UV 照射的 ZDA 薄膜在显影溶剂中变得不溶；因此，我们能够成功地使用紫外光对溶液处理的 ZDA 薄膜进行光图案化。我们研究了添加少量铟掺杂剂对光图案化 ZnO 薄膜晶体管特性的影响，并通过使用 Al2O3/TiO2 层状薄膜或离子凝胶作为栅介质，展示了 ZnO TFT 在±3 V 范围内的低压操作。通过将 ZnO TFT 与 p 型五苯 TFT 相结合，我们成功地使用溶液处理和光图案化的 ZnO TFT 制造了有机/无机混合互补型逆变器。
