Polymer rectifier circuit using poly(3-hexylthiophene)

The market for radio frequency identification (RFID) tags is estimated to grow rapidly for the next few years. However, very low manufacturing cost will be required for many of the potential application areas. One concept for achieving this is to use printable electronics. We have studied polymer based diodes from a materials and processing perspective. Polymer based diodes are mostly of a Shottky- type and hybrid devices using combinations of organic and inorganic materials have shown the most promising performance. In this study the performance of individual diodes using a commercially available poly(3-hexylthiophene), P3HT, conjugated polymer on aluminium metal cathode is characterized. Simple electronic models for the operation of the device are developed and analyzed. Measurements show that a sufficient performance level of the diodes for many practical applications is achieved despite the use of simple processing methods and exposure to air both during sample preparation and measurement. Two different rectifier circuits and a voltage multiplier are constructed and analyzed. The circuits work as expected, and the operational frequency is limited to values below the diodes inherent cut-off frequency that lies between 100 kHz – 1 MHz.