Home > Press > Organic semiconductors: One transistor for all purposes
Christoph Hohmann, Nanosystems Initiative Munich (NIM) |
Abstract:
In mobiles, fridges, planes - transistors are everywhere. But they often operate only within a restricted current range. Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich physicists have now developed an organic transistor that functions perfectly under both low and high currents.
Transistors are semiconductor devices that control voltage and currents in electrical circuits. To reduce economic and environmental costs, electronic devices must become smaller and more effective. This applies above all to transistors. In the field of inorganic semiconductors, dimensions below 100 nanometers are already standard. In this respect, organic semiconductors have not been able to keep up. In addition, their performance with regard to charge-carrier transport is considerably worse. But organic structures offer other advantages. They can easily be printed on an industrial scale, the material costs are lower, and they can be transparently applied to flexible surfaces.
Thomas Weitz, a professor in LMU's Faculty of Physics and a member of the Nanosystems Initiative Munich, and his team are working intensively on the optimization of organic transistors. In their latest publication in Nature Nanotechnology, they describe the fabrication of transistors with an unusual structure, which are tiny, powerful and above all versatile. By carefully tailoring a small set of parameters during the production process, they have been able to design nanoscale devices for high or low current densities. The primary innovation lies in the use of an atypical geometry, which also facilitates assembly of the nanoscopic transistors.
"Our aim was to develop a transistor design which combines the ability to drive high currents that is typical of classical transistors with the low-voltage operation required for use as artificial synapses," says Weitz. With the successful assembly and characterization of vertical organic field-effect transistors with exactly selectable dimensions and an ionic gating, this goal has now been achieved.
Potential areas of application for the new devices include OLEDs and sensors where low voltages, high ON-state current densities or large transconductances are required. Of special interest is their possible use in so-called memristive elements. "Memristors can be thought of as artificial neurons, as they can be used to model the behavior of neurons when processing electrical signals," explains Weitz. "By fine-tuning the geometry of a memristive device, it could be applied in a variety of contexts, such as learning processes in artificial synapses." The researchers have already submitted a patent application for the device to enable them to develop the new transistor architecture for industrial use.
####
For more information, please click here
Contacts:
Dr. Kathrin Bilgeri
0049-892-180-3423
Copyright © Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU)
If you have a comment, please Contact us.Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.
Related Links |
Related News Press |
News and information
Simulating magnetization in a Heisenberg quantum spin chain April 5th, 2024
NRL charters Navy’s quantum inertial navigation path to reduce drift April 5th, 2024
Discovery points path to flash-like memory for storing qubits: Rice find could hasten development of nonvolatile quantum memory April 5th, 2024
Organic Electronics
Flexible Electronics
CityU awarded invention: Soft, ultrathin photonic material cools down wearable electronic devices June 30th, 2023
Liquid metal sticks to surfaces without a binding agent June 9th, 2023
Breaking through the limits of stretchable semiconductors with molecular brakes that harness light June 9th, 2023
Hardware
The present and future of computing get a boost from new research July 21st, 2023
Possible Futures
Discovery points path to flash-like memory for storing qubits: Rice find could hasten development of nonvolatile quantum memory April 5th, 2024
With VECSELs towards the quantum internet Fraunhofer: IAF achieves record output power with VECSEL for quantum frequency converters April 5th, 2024
Chip Technology
Discovery points path to flash-like memory for storing qubits: Rice find could hasten development of nonvolatile quantum memory April 5th, 2024
Utilizing palladium for addressing contact issues of buried oxide thin film transistors April 5th, 2024
HKUST researchers develop new integration technique for efficient coupling of III-V and silicon February 16th, 2024
Nanoelectronics
Interdisciplinary: Rice team tackles the future of semiconductors Multiferroics could be the key to ultralow-energy computing October 6th, 2023
Key element for a scalable quantum computer: Physicists from Forschungszentrum Jülich and RWTH Aachen University demonstrate electron transport on a quantum chip September 23rd, 2022
Reduced power consumption in semiconductor devices September 23rd, 2022
Atomic level deposition to extend Moore’s law and beyond July 15th, 2022
Discoveries
Chemical reactions can scramble quantum information as well as black holes April 5th, 2024
New micromaterial releases nanoparticles that selectively destroy cancer cells April 5th, 2024
Utilizing palladium for addressing contact issues of buried oxide thin film transistors April 5th, 2024
Announcements
NRL charters Navy’s quantum inertial navigation path to reduce drift April 5th, 2024
Discovery points path to flash-like memory for storing qubits: Rice find could hasten development of nonvolatile quantum memory April 5th, 2024
Interviews/Book Reviews/Essays/Reports/Podcasts/Journals/White papers/Posters
Simulating magnetization in a Heisenberg quantum spin chain April 5th, 2024
Discovery points path to flash-like memory for storing qubits: Rice find could hasten development of nonvolatile quantum memory April 5th, 2024
Patents/IP/Tech Transfer/Licensing
Getting drugs across the blood-brain barrier using nanoparticles March 3rd, 2023
Metasurfaces control polarized light at will: New research unlocks the hidden potential of metasurfaces August 13th, 2021
Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Announces Closing of Agreement with Takeda November 27th, 2020
Industrial
Boron nitride nanotube fibers get real: Rice lab creates first heat-tolerant, stable fibers from wet-spinning process June 24th, 2022
Nanotubes: a promising solution for advanced rubber cables with 60% less conductive filler June 1st, 2022
Protective equipment with graphene nanotubes meets the strictest ESD safety standards March 25th, 2022
OCSiAl receives the green light for Luxembourg graphene nanotube facility project to power the next generation of electric vehicles in Europe March 4th, 2022
The latest news from around the world, FREE | ||
Premium Products | ||
Only the news you want to read!
Learn More |
||
Full-service, expert consulting
Learn More |
||