Polymer field-effect transistors with inkjet-printed silver electrodes: from device fabrication to circuit simulation

Organic electronics is an enabler of future wearable and intelligent technologies. However, the majority of researches on organic devices employ vacuum-evaporation methods for their metallization, blurring the manufacturing advantages of solution-processable semiconductors. We present a combined experimental and theoretical investigation into the suitability of silver inkjet-printing as a fast, low-cost, low-temperature, and ambient processing option to produce high-quality contacts for field-effect transistors. Printing steps are carefully optimized to solve wettability, film-delamination, and charge-injection issues, for yielding p-type transistors with a soluble diketopyrrolopyrrole polymer as a channel material. Drift-diffusion simulation is carried out in parallel to reproduce the terminal characteristics of the fabricated transistors, revealing fundamental insights into charge traps, carrier mobility, electrode energy, and doping. Finally, resistor- and transistor-loaded digital inverters were operated on a circuit simulator under various conditions to address their applicability.