High-performance, electrolyte-gated vertical organic nanoscale transistors

Here we will present our previous work about electrolyte gated vertical organic field effect transistors (VOFETs) reaching uniquely high current densities in the MA cm^-2 regime [1]. Down to channel lengths of 40 nm, the high gate coupling via the ionic liquid and contact doping guarantees a full control of the charge carrier density taking the major hurdles of short channel and contact resistance effects, which usually limit the performance of nanoscopic organic devices. Our VOFETs sustain current densities above 3 MA cm^-2 at -0.3 V bias, on/off current modulation of up to 10⁸ and ultra-high transconductances of up to 5kS*m^-1. Regarding current density and on/off ratio, our VOFETs also perform well compared to SWCNT, MoS₂ and FIN-FET devices. The small channel length and small nanoscopic footprint of the vertical electrode alignment could pave the way for possible integration into functional devices. This approach also provides an excellent platform for ultralow-power electronics as the transistor characteristics stay sufficiently intact down to an operation voltage of only 10 μV.

1. J. Lenz, F. et al., "Vertical, electrolyte-gated organic transistors: continuous operation in the MA/cm² regime and use as low-power artificial synapses", Nat. Nanotechnol. 14, 579, 2019