Low-power organic field-effect transistors and complementary inverter based on low-temperature processed Al2O3 dielectric

•A low-cost and low-temperature solution process is developed to prepare excellent Al2O3 gate dielectric.•Both p-type and n-type high-performance low-voltage organic field-effect transistors are realized utilizing Al2O3 dielectric.•High quality of Al2O3 dielectric results in high operating stability of organic field-effect transistors.•A flexible low-power complementary inverter with a large gain is achieved utilizing Al2O3 dielectric.

Organic-based complementary inverter could be a key component in future flexible and portable electronic products, which require low-power operation, high operating stability and flexible compatibility at the same time. A simple method for making excellent Al2O3 gate dielectric is developed toward the target, and it is a low-cost solution process with a low annealing temperature compatible with plastic substrates. Utilizing the Al2O3 dielectric, both p-type and n-type low-voltage organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) are realized. The device operating voltage is down to ±3 V, and the On/Off ratio is up to 106. The hole and electron field-effect mobilities are 2.7 cm2/V and 0.2 cm2/V, respectively, and the subthreshold swing is as small as about 110 mV/decade. The high quality of the Al2O3 dielectric results in high operating stability of the devices. The p-type and n-type OFETs are integrated to achieve a low-power complementary inverter with a large gain, which can be successfully fabricated on a flexible substrate.

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