title: Ultra-flexible solution-processed organic field-effect transistors.
abstract: Organic semiconductors might enable new applications in low-cost, light-weight, flexible electronics. To build a solid foundation for these technologies, more fundamental studies of electro-mechanical properties of various types of organic semiconductors are necessary. Here we perform basic studies of charge transport in highly crystalline solution-processed organic semiconductors as a function of applied mechanical strain. As a test bed, we use small molecules crystallized on thin plastic sheets, resulting in high-performance flexible field-effect transistors. These devices can be bent multiple times without degradation to a radius as small as ~200 μm, demonstrating that crystalline solution-processed organic semiconductors are intrinsically highly flexible. This study of electro-mechanical properties suggests that solution-processable organic semiconductors are suitable for applications in flexible electronics, provided that integration with other important technological advances, such as device scalability and low-voltage operation, is achieved in the future.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, USA.
authors.forename: Hee Taek
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Yi
authors.forename: Marcia M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Payne
authors.forename: John E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Anthony
authors.forename: Vitaly
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Podzorov