Devices made using thin-film semiconductors have attracted much interest recently owing to new application possibilities. Among materials systems suitable for thin-film electronics, organic semiconductors are of particular interest; their low cost, biocompatible carbon-based materials and deposition by simple techniques such as evaporation or printing enable organic semiconductor devices to be used for ubiquitous electronics, such as those used on or in the human body or on clothing and packages^1–3. The potential of organic electronics can be leveraged only if the performance of organic transistors is improved markedly. Here we present organic bipolar transistors with outstanding device performance: a previously undescribed vertical architecture and highly crystalline organic rubrene thin films yield devices with high differential amplification (more than 100) and superior high-frequency performance over conventional devices. These bipolar transistors also give insight into the minority carrier diffusion length—a key parameter in organic semiconductors. Our results open the door to new device concepts of high-performance organic electronics with ever faster switching speeds.

This paper explores how the Schottky barrier (SB) transistor is used in a variety of applications and material systems. A discussion of SB formation, current transport processes, and an overview of modeling are first considered. Three discussions follow, which detail the role of SB transistors in high performance, ubiquitous and cryogenic electronics. For high performance computing, the SB typically needs to be minimized to achieve optimal performance and we explore the methods adopted in carbon nanotube technology and two-dimensional electronics. On the contrary for ubiquitous electronics, the SB can be used advantageously in source-gated transistors and reconfigurable field-effect transistors (FETs) for sensors, neuromorphic hardware and security applications. Similarly, judicious use of an SB can be an asset for applications involving Josephson junction FETs.

The main advantage of organic transistors with dual gates/bases is that the threshold voltages can be set as a function of the applied second gate/base bias, which is crucial for the application in logic gates and integrated circuits. However, incorporating a dual gate/base structure into an ultra-short channel vertical architecture represents a substantial challenge. Here, we realize a device concept of vertical organic permeable dual-base transistors, where the dual base electrodes can be used to tune the threshold voltages and change the on-currents. The detailed operation mechanisms are investigated by calibrated TCAD simulations. Finally, power-efficient logic circuits, e.g. inverter, NAND/AND computation functions are demonstrated with one single device operating at supply voltages of <2.0 V. We believe that this work offers a compact and technologically simple hardware platform with excellent application potential for vertical-channel organic transistors in complex logic circuits.

This paper presents the derivation of a compact dc modeling approach for the band-to-band tunneling current in double-gate tunnel-field effect transistors (TFETs). The physics-based model equations are solved in closed form by including 2-D effects and are implemented in the hardware description language Verilog-A. The verification of the model is done in two steps. First, the modeling approach is verified by TCAD Sentaurus simulation data of the band diagram, the transfer current, and the output current characteristics as well as the output conductance. The modeling results show a good agreement with the TCAD data. Then, measurement data of complementary nanowire gate-all-around TFET devices are utilized to verify the model and to show possible fields of application. As a part of the verification, the benefits and limitations are analyzed and discussed. The numerical stability and flexibility of the model are pointed out by performing simulations of a single-stage TFET inverter.

We present analytical physics-based compact models for the Schottky barriers at the interfaces between the organic semiconductor and the source and drain contacts in organic thin-film transistors (TFTs) fabricated in the coplanar and the staggered device architecture, and we illustrate the effect of these Schottky barriers on the current-voltage characteristics of the TFTs. The model for the source barrier explicitly considers the field-dependent barrier lowering due to image charges. Potential solutions have been derived by applying the Schwarz-Christoffel transformation, leading to expressions for the electric field at the source barrier and for the contact resistance at the source contact. With regard to the drain barrier, a generic compact-modeling scheme based on the current-voltage characteristics of a barrier-less TFT is introduced that can be applied to any compact dc model. Finally, both models are incorporated into an existing charge-based compact dc model and verified against the results of measurements performed on coplanar and staggered organic TFTs with channel lengths ranging from 0.5 to 10.5 μm.