News Article
Semiconductor performance tested at Stanford University
Semiconductors made of organic crystals perform better when the molecules are well aligned across grain boundaries.
A team of engineers who were part of a Stanford University-led research programme have made progress into determining why some semiconductors made of organic crystals do not perform well.
The way boundaries between individual crystals are aligned could impact 70-fold upon how easily electrical charges and current can move through semiconductors.
Organic semiconductors are easier to produce than silicon chips and are cheap and flexible; however, a regular problem is that performance between transistors differs more than can be allowed in commercially viable devices because of quality demands, the university explained.
The paper s lead author Jonathan Rivnay grew crystals of an organic semiconductor called PDI8-CN2 and then made transistors in which charges could flow through well-aligned molecules.
Performance of these transistors was better than ones where the molecules were misaligned across the grain boundaries.
"By better understanding what goes on at these boundaries and how detrimental they are, improvements can be made at the chemistry end as well as at the design and fabrication end of the process," stated Mr Rivnay.
The Technology Review from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology recently noted that fully biodegradable organic transistors, as developed by Stanford University, could be used during surgery to control temporary medical implants.
The way boundaries between individual crystals are aligned could impact 70-fold upon how easily electrical charges and current can move through semiconductors.
Organic semiconductors are easier to produce than silicon chips and are cheap and flexible; however, a regular problem is that performance between transistors differs more than can be allowed in commercially viable devices because of quality demands, the university explained.
The paper s lead author Jonathan Rivnay grew crystals of an organic semiconductor called PDI8-CN2 and then made transistors in which charges could flow through well-aligned molecules.
Performance of these transistors was better than ones where the molecules were misaligned across the grain boundaries.
"By better understanding what goes on at these boundaries and how detrimental they are, improvements can be made at the chemistry end as well as at the design and fabrication end of the process," stated Mr Rivnay.
The Technology Review from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology recently noted that fully biodegradable organic transistors, as developed by Stanford University, could be used during surgery to control temporary medical implants.
