Fabrication of poly(3-hexylthiophene) nanowires for high-mobility transistors

Presented here is a novel and efficient method used to improve carrier mobilities of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT)-based organic field effect transistors by means of nanowire formation. The treatment, termed solvation, consists of depositing a small quantity of a solvent directly on top of a previously deposited semiconducting film, and allowing the solvent to evaporate slowly. Such treatment results in an increase of the saturation mobility by more than one order of magnitude, from 1.3 × 10^-3 up to 3.4 × 10^-2 cm²/Vs, while devices preserve their high ON/OFF ratio of ∼10⁴. The atomic force and scanning electron microscopy studies show that solvated P3HT layers develop a network of nanowires, which exhibit increased degree of structural order, as demonstrated by micro Raman spectroscopy. The time-of-flight photoconductivity studies suggest that higher hole mobility stems from a reduced energy disorder of the transporting states in these structures.