Impact of surface modification by addition of self-assembled monolayer for carrier transport of quaterrylene thin films

Quaterrylene field-effect transistors (FETs) were formed on a silicon oxide (SiO2) layer and on an octadecyltrichlorosilane self-assembled monolayer (OTS-SAM). To elucidate the transport mechanisms in the respective devices, we examined the dependence of carrier mobility on film thickness and temperature. On the OTS surface, a marked increase in the carrier mobility was observed in the initial layers, indicating that the accumulated carriers were distributed closer to the interface than were those on the SiO2 surface. Moreover, the carrier transport in the respective devices exhibited distinct behaviors in the low temperature range, particularly in the initial layers. On the SiO2 surface the carrier mobility depended strongly on temperature; the value drastically declined with the decreasing temperature from 300 K down to 60 K. On the OTS surface, the carrier mobility showed temperature-independent transport below 210 K. This maintenance of the carrier transport at low temperatures was caused by the termination of the trap-state density near the interface. These results clearly reveal that the OTS treatment effectively helped improve the interface properties because of a reduction in the density of the carrier traps, dramatically facilitating the carrier transport in the initial layers.