Over the past three decades, significant research efforts have focused on improving the charge carrier mobility of organic thin‐film transistors (OTFTs). In recent years, a commonly observed ...nonlinearity in OTFT current–voltage characteristics, known as the “kink” or “double slope,” has led to widespread mobility overestimations, contaminating the relevant literature. Here, published data from the past 30 years is reviewed to uncover the extent of the field‐effect mobility hype and identify the progress that has actually been achieved in the field of OTFTs. Present carrier‐mobility‐related challenges are identified, finding that reliable hole and electron mobility values of 20 and 10 cm2 V−1 s−1, respectively, have yet to be achieved. Based on the analysis, the literature is then reviewed to summarize the concepts behind the success of high‐performance p‐type polymers, along with the latest understanding of the design criteria that will enable further mobility enhancement in n‐type polymers and small molecules, and the reasons why high carrier mobility values have been consistently produced from small molecule/polymer blend semiconductors. Overall, this review brings together important information that aids reliable OTFT data analysis, while providing guidelines for the development of next‐generation organic semiconductors.
Overestimated carrier mobility values reported in recent years for organic thin‐film transistors (OTFTs) have contaminated the literature. 30 years of OTFT carrier mobility data is examined in an effort to identify actual progress achieved, and summarize the key design strategies behind high carrier mobility values for both p‐ and n‐type organic semiconductors.
Emerging forms of soft, flexible, and stretchable electronics promise to revolutionize the electronics industries of the future offering radically new products that combine multiple functionalities, ...including power generation, with arbitrary form factor. For example, skin‐like electronics promise to transform the human‐machine‐interface, but the softness of the skin is incompatible with traditional electronic components. To address this issue, new strategies toward soft and wearable electronic systems are currently being pursued, which also include stretchable photovoltaics as self‐powering systems for use in autonomous and stretchable electronics of the future. Here recent developments in the field of stretchable photovoltaics are reviewed and their potential for various emerging applications are examined. Emphasis is placed on the different strategies to induce stretchability including extrinsic and intrinsic approaches. In the former case, engineering and patterning of the materials and devices are key elements while intrinsically stretchable systems rely on mechanically compliant materials such as elastomers and organic conjugated polymers. The result is a review article that provides a comprehensive summary of the progress to date in the field of stretchable solar cells from the nanoscale to macroscopic functional devices. The article is concluded by discussing the emerging trends and future developments.
Flexible and stretchable solar cells are important for a range of emerging applications such as electronic skins, e‐textiles, wearable displays and health sensors, among others. An overview of stretchable optoelectronics is provided, where the benefits of stretchable solar cells are addressed, and the progress made in this field in terms of efficiency and strategies to achieve mechanical stretchability are underlined.
A number of recent studies have shown that the nonradiative voltage losses in organic solar cells can be suppressed in systems with low energetic offsets between donor and acceptor molecular states, ...but the physical reasons underpinning this remain unclear. Here, we present a systematic study of 18 different donor/acceptor blends to determine the effect that energetic offset has on both radiative and nonradiative recombination of the charge-transfer (CT) state. We find that, for certain blends, low offsets result in hybridization between charge-transfer and lowest donor or acceptor exciton states, which leads to a strong suppression in the nonradiative voltage loss to values as low as 0.23 V associated with an increase in the luminescence of the CT state. Further, we extend a two-state CT-state recombination model to include the interaction between CT and first excited states, which allows us to explain the low nonradiative voltage losses as an increase in the effective CT to ground state oscillator strength due to the intensity borrowing mechanism. We show that low nonradiative voltage losses can be achieved in material combinations with a strong electronic coupling between CT and first excited states and where the lower band gap material has a high oscillator strength for transitions from the excited state to the ground state. Finally, from our model we propose that achieving very low nonradiative voltage losses may come at a cost of higher overall recombination rates, which may help to explain the generally lower FF and EQE of highly hybridized systems.
In this review, we discuss the merits of solution-processed metal oxide semiconductors and consider their application in thin-film transistors for large-area electronics.
Recent developments in the ...field of solution-processable metal-oxide semiconductors and their application in thin-film transistors for large-area electronics are reviewed.
The application of liquid‐exfoliated 2D transition metal disulfides (TMDs) as the hole transport layers (HTLs) in nonfullerene‐based organic solar cells is reported. It is shown that solution ...processing of few‐layer WS2 or MoS2 suspensions directly onto transparent indium tin oxide (ITO) electrodes changes their work function without the need for any further treatment. HTLs comprising WS2 are found to exhibit higher uniformity on ITO than those of MoS2 and consistently yield solar cells with superior power conversion efficiency (PCE), improved fill factor (FF), enhanced short‐circuit current (JSC), and lower series resistance than devices based on poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) and MoS2. Cells based on the ternary bulk‐heterojunction PBDB‐T‐2F:Y6:PC71BM with WS2 as the HTL exhibit the highest PCE of 17%, with an FF of 78%, open‐circuit voltage of 0.84 V, and a JSC of 26 mA cm−2. Analysis of the cells' optical and carrier recombination characteristics indicates that the enhanced performance is most likely attributed to a combination of favorable photonic structure and reduced bimolecular recombination losses in WS2‐based cells. The achieved PCE is the highest reported to date for organic solar cells comprised of 2D charge transport interlayers and highlights the potential of TMDs as inexpensive HTLs for high‐efficiency organic photovoltaics.
The use of liquid exfoliated 2D WS2 and MoS2 as hole‐transporting layers (HTLs) in ultrahigh efficiency organic solar cells is reported. WS2 yields cells with higher power conversion efficiency (PCE), fill‐factor, and short‐circuit current than MoS2 and poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate). When WS2 is introduced as HTL in PBDB‐T‐2F:Y6:PC71BM organic solar cells, a maximum PCE value of 17% is achieved.
Following the unprecedented rise in photovoltaic power conversion efficiencies during the past five years, metal‐halide perovskites (MHPs) have emerged as a new and highly promising class of ...solar‐energy materials. Their extraordinary electrical and optical properties combined with the abundance of the raw materials, the simplicity of synthetic routes, and processing versatility make MHPs ideal for cost‐efficient, large‐volume manufacturing of a plethora of optoelectronic devices that span far beyond photovoltaics. Herein looks beyond current applications in the field of energy, to the area of large‐area electronics using MHPs as the semiconductor material. A comprehensive overview of the relevant fundamental material properties of MHPs, including crystal structure, electronic states, and charge transport, is provided first. Thereafter, recent demonstrations of MHP‐based thin‐film transistors and their application in logic circuits, as well as bi‐functional devices such as light‐sensing and light‐emitting transistors, are discussed. Finally, the challenges and opportunities in the area of MHPs‐based electronics, with particular emphasis on manufacturing, stability, and health and environmental concerns, are highlighted.
Their extraordinary electrical and optical properties combined with the abundance of their raw materials, have driven metal‐halide perovskites (MHPs) to the forefront of functional electronic materials research, with envisioned applications spanning across several technology sectors. The recent advances in the use of MHPs in the area of transistors and transistor‐related applications are summarized.
The field-effect transistor kickstarted the digital revolution that propelled our society into the information age. One member of the now large family of field-effect devices is the thin-film ...transistor (TFT), best known for its enabling role in modern flat-panel displays. TFTs can be used in all sorts of innovative applications because of the broad variety of materials they can be made from, which give them diverse electrical and mechanical characteristics. To successfully utilize TFT technologies in a variety of rapidly emerging applications, such as flexible, stretchable and transparent large-area microelectronics, there are a number of metrics that matter.
Organic thin‐film transistors (OTFTs) offer unprecedented opportunities for implementation in a broad range of technological applications spanning from large‐volume microelectronics and optical ...displays to chemical and biological sensors. In this Progress Report, we review the application of organic transistors in the fields of flexible optical displays and microelectronics. The advantages associated with the use of OTFT technology are discussed with primary emphasis on the latest developments in the area of active‐matrix electrophoretic and organic light‐emitting diode displays based on OTFT backplanes and on the application of organic transistors in microelectronics including digital and analog circuits.
Organic thin‐film transistor technology is a promising candidate for application in the next generations of optical displays and large‐volume microelectronics. In this Progress Report, recent advances in the fields of active‐matrix flexible displays based on organic thin‐film transistor backplanes and organic microelectronics are discussed and various state‐of‐the‐art applications are highlighted.
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