Towards all-polymer field-effect transistors with solution processable materials

We have fabricated polymer field-effect transistors (FET) from solution processable polymers. Starting with an inorganic structure using only an organic semiconductor (regio-regular poly(3-hexylthiophene)), the transistor performance was studied as the inorganic materials were replaced with polymeric alternatives one at a time. We see a gradual increase in subthreshold swing and off-currents and an increased threshold voltage when substituting the inorganic materials with polymer materials. The small reduction in transistor performance when going from inorganic substrate and insulator to polymeric materials indicates that it is possible to make flexible polymer devices from solution processed materials suitable for roll-to-roll processing. The all-polymer FET was realized using two different conducting polymers, polyaniline for the source and drain electrodes and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) poly(styrenesulfonate), PEDOT:PSS, for the gate electrode.