Dual Optoelectronic Organic Field-Effect Device: Combination of Electroluminescence and Photosensitivity

Abstract

Merging the functionality of an organic field-effect transistor (OFET) with either a light emission or a photoelectric effect can increase the efficiency of displays or photosensing devices. In this work, we show that an organic semiconductor enables a multifunctional OFET combining electroluminescence (EL) and a photoelectric effect. Specifically, our computational and experimental investigations of a six-ring thiophene-phenylene co-oligomer (TPCO) revealed that this material is promising for OFETs, light-emitting, and photoelectric devices because of the large oscillator strength of the lowest-energy singlet transition, efficient luminescence, pronounced delocalization of the excited state, and balanced charge transport. The fabricated OFETs showed a photoelectric response for wavelengths shorter than 530 nm and simultaneously EL in the transistor channel, with a maximum at ~570 nm. The devices demonstrated an EL external quantum efficiency (EQE) of ~1.4% and a photoelectric responsivity of ~0.7 A W–1, which are among the best values reported for state-of-the-art organic light-emitting transistors and phototransistors, respectively. We anticipate that our results will stimulate the design of efficient materials for multifunctional organic optoelectronic devices and expand the potential applications of organic (opto)electronics.

Keywords

• organic field-effect transistors
• light-emitting transistors
• electroluminescence
• organic phototransistors
• organic semiconductors
• thiophene-phenylene co-oligomers