5 Conclusions
Despite its long history, the intricacies and complexities of charge transport in
P3HT field-effect transistors still fascinate scientists. Over the last few years a more
complete picture of the relationship between film morphology and charge carrier
mobility has emerged thanks to advanced characterization and processing techniques. At the same time, it has become obvious that the maximum mobilities of
P3HT are fundamentally limited and so new high-mobility thiophene-based polymers have entered the race towards the application of polymer transistors in organic
electronics. Although P3HT may no longer be the prime candidate for application
in circuits, the many possible variations in morphology (depending on molecular
structure and processing) and their impact on carrier mobility in thin films will
continue to give insights into the fundamental principles of charge transport in
conjugated polymers.
References
1. Assadi A, Svensson C, Willander M, Inganas O (1988) Field-effect mobility of poly
(3-hexylthiophene). Appl Phys Lett 53:195–197
2. Paloheimo J, Kuivalainen P, Stubb H, Vuorimaa E, Yli-Lahti P (1990) Molecular field-effect
transistors using conducting polymer Langmuir–Blodgett films. Appl Phys Lett 56:1157–
1159
3. Bao Z, Dodabalapur A, Lovinger AJ (1996) Soluble and processable regioregular poly
(3-hexylthiophene) for thin film field-effect transistor applications with high mobility. Appl
Phys Lett 69:4108–4110
4. Sirringhaus H, Tessler N, Friend RH (1998) Integrated optoelectronic devices based on
conjugated polymers. Science 280:1741–1744
5. Sirringhaus H, Brown PJ, Friend RH, Nielsen MM, Bechgaard K, Langeveld-Voss BMW,
Spiering AJH, Janssen RAJ, Meijer EW, Herwig P et al (1999) Two-dimensional charge
transport in self-organized, high-mobility conjugated polymers. Nature 401:685–688
6. McCullough RD, Tristram-Nagle S, Williams SP, Lowe RD, Jayaraman M (1993) Selforienting head-to-tail poly(3-alkylthiophenes): new insights on structure–property relationships in conducting polymers. J Am Chem Soc 115:4910–4911
7. Lu G, Blakesley J, Himmelberger S, Pingel P, Frisch J, Lieberwirth I, Salzmann I, Oehzelt M,
Di Pietro R, Salleo A et al (2013) Moderate doping leads to high performance of semiconductor/insulator polymer blend transistors. Nat Commun 4:1588
8. Noriega R, Rivnay J, Vandewal K, Koch FPV, Stingelin N, Smith P, Toney MF, Salleo A
(2013) A general relationship between disorder, aggregation and charge transport in conjugated polymers. Nat Mater 12:1038–1044
9. Tanase C, Meijer EJ, Blom PWM, de Leeuw DM (2003) Unification of the hole transport in
polymeric field-effect transistors and light-emitting diodes. Phys Rev Lett 91:216601
10. Natali D, Fumagalli L, Sampietro M (2007) Modeling of organic thin film transistors: effect
of contact resistances. J Appl Phys 101:014501–014512
11. Gelinck G, Heremans P, Nomoto K, Anthopoulos TD (2010) Organic transistors in optical
displays and microelectronic applications. Adv Mater 22:3778–3798
12. Sze SM (2002) Semiconductor devices – physics and technology, 2nd edn. Wiley, New York
P3HT and Other Polythiophene Field-Effect Transistors
131
Despite its long history, the intricacies and complexities of charge transport in
P3HT field-effect transistors still fascinate scientists. Over the last few years a more
complete picture of the relationship between film morphology and charge carrier
mobility has emerged thanks to advanced characterization and processing techniques. At the same time, it has become obvious that the maximum mobilities of
P3HT are fundamentally limited and so new high-mobility thiophene-based polymers have entered the race towards the application of polymer transistors in organic
electronics. Although P3HT may no longer be the prime candidate for application
in circuits, the many possible variations in morphology (depending on molecular
structure and processing) and their impact on carrier mobility in thin films will
continue to give insights into the fundamental principles of charge transport in
conjugated polymers.
References
1. Assadi A, Svensson C, Willander M, Inganas O (1988) Field-effect mobility of poly
(3-hexylthiophene). Appl Phys Lett 53:195–197
2. Paloheimo J, Kuivalainen P, Stubb H, Vuorimaa E, Yli-Lahti P (1990) Molecular field-effect
transistors using conducting polymer Langmuir–Blodgett films. Appl Phys Lett 56:1157–
1159
3. Bao Z, Dodabalapur A, Lovinger AJ (1996) Soluble and processable regioregular poly
(3-hexylthiophene) for thin film field-effect transistor applications with high mobility. Appl
Phys Lett 69:4108–4110
4. Sirringhaus H, Tessler N, Friend RH (1998) Integrated optoelectronic devices based on
conjugated polymers. Science 280:1741–1744
5. Sirringhaus H, Brown PJ, Friend RH, Nielsen MM, Bechgaard K, Langeveld-Voss BMW,
Spiering AJH, Janssen RAJ, Meijer EW, Herwig P et al (1999) Two-dimensional charge
transport in self-organized, high-mobility conjugated polymers. Nature 401:685–688
6. McCullough RD, Tristram-Nagle S, Williams SP, Lowe RD, Jayaraman M (1993) Selforienting head-to-tail poly(3-alkylthiophenes): new insights on structure–property relationships in conducting polymers. J Am Chem Soc 115:4910–4911
7. Lu G, Blakesley J, Himmelberger S, Pingel P, Frisch J, Lieberwirth I, Salzmann I, Oehzelt M,
Di Pietro R, Salleo A et al (2013) Moderate doping leads to high performance of semiconductor/insulator polymer blend transistors. Nat Commun 4:1588
8. Noriega R, Rivnay J, Vandewal K, Koch FPV, Stingelin N, Smith P, Toney MF, Salleo A
(2013) A general relationship between disorder, aggregation and charge transport in conjugated polymers. Nat Mater 12:1038–1044
9. Tanase C, Meijer EJ, Blom PWM, de Leeuw DM (2003) Unification of the hole transport in
polymeric field-effect transistors and light-emitting diodes. Phys Rev Lett 91:216601
10. Natali D, Fumagalli L, Sampietro M (2007) Modeling of organic thin film transistors: effect
of contact resistances. J Appl Phys 101:014501–014512
11. Gelinck G, Heremans P, Nomoto K, Anthopoulos TD (2010) Organic transistors in optical
displays and microelectronic applications. Adv Mater 22:3778–3798
12. Sze SM (2002) Semiconductor devices – physics and technology, 2nd edn. Wiley, New York
P3HT and Other Polythiophene Field-Effect Transistors
131