Ambipolar, low-voltage and low-hysteresis PbSe nanowire field-effect transistors by electrolyte gating

Abstract

Semiconductor nanowire field-effect transistors (FETs) are interesting for fundamental studies of charge transport as well as possible applications in electronics. Here, we report low-voltage, low-hysteresis and ambipolar PbSe nanowire FETs using electrolyte-gating with ionic liquids and ion gels. We obtain balanced hole and electron mobilities at gate voltages below 1 V. Due to the large effective capacitance of the ionic liquids and thus high charge carrier densities electrolyte-gated nanowire FETs are much less affected by external doping and traps than nanowire FETs with traditional dielectrics such as SiO2. The observed current-voltage characteristics and on/off ratios indicate almost completely transparent Schottky barriers and efficient ambipolar charge injection into a low band gap one-dimensional semiconductor. Finally, we explore the possibility of applying these ambipolar nanowire FETs in complementary inverters for printed electronics.

Recent Developments and Novel Applications of Thin Film, Light‐Emitting Transistors

“…The voltage limit is given by the electrochemical window of the electrolyte at a given temperature (e.g., ±2.5 V for many ionic liquids at room temperature). Furthermore, the charge injection barriers are reduced substantially and thus ambipolar transport can be observed for a range of semiconductors that show only unipolar behavior in conventional electrostatically gated transistors . The biasing requirements for the ambipolar regime of an electrolyte‐gated transistor are the same as for other ambipolar LEFETs.…”

Designed Assembly and Integration of Colloidal Nanocrystals for Device Applications

“…They reported high‐performance, low‐hysteresis, and low‐voltage CdSe NC transistors with electron mobilities up to 22 cm 2 V −1 s −1 (Figure c). Moreover, aligned NWs have also been utilized in flexible transistors . PbSe NWs capped with a hexadecane‐ graft ‐poly(vinylpyrrolidone) copolymer were drop‐cast on an Al 2 O 3 and octadecylphosphonic acid double dielectric layer and aligned across the device structure under an external electric field (Figure d).…”

“…Copyright 2011, American Chemical Society. e) Reproduced with permission . Copyright 2013, Royal Society of Chemistry.…”

Nanostructured Materials and Architectures for Advanced Infrared Photodetection

“…The foremost intention here is still to deplete the intrinsic carriers in nanowire channels. Recently, novel dielectric materials, such as ionic liquids, gels and ferroelectric polymers have been explored as novel dielectric materials in nanowire transistors and photodetectors . Due to their relatively slow dynamic responses, the applied field effects in these materials could maintain for a moment in devices, rendering a continous modulation to the electrical conductance in nanowire channel.…”