Electrical characteristics of poly(3-hexylthiophene) organic thin film transistor with electroplated metal gate electrodes on polyimide

The electroplating of the gate electrode on a flexible polyimide (PI) substrate was successfully applied to the fabrication of inverted-staggered poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) organic thin film transistors (OTFTs). The Ni gate electrode was electroplated through patterned negative photo-resist (KMPR) masks onto Cu (seed)/Cr (adhesion) layers that had been sputter-deposited on O2-plasma-treated PI substrates. The electrical measurements of the fabricated OTFTs with the SiO2 gate insulator indicated non-ideal output characteristics, which are similar to the model of electrical transport by a space-charge limited current (SCLC). The use of a poly(4-vinyl phenol) (PVP) and SiO2/PVP bilayer gate dielectric produced output characteristics that were closer to the ideal TFT behavior but led to a lower effective mobility and on/off current (Ion/Ioff).