Thin-film transistors based on well-ordered thermally evaporated naphthacene films

We report on organic thin-film transistors fabricated using the small-molecule organic semiconductor naphthacene as the active layer material with device performance suitable for several large-area or low-cost electronics applications. We investigated naphthacene thin films deposited by thermal evaporation onto amorphous substrates held near room temperature. Using atomic-force microscopy and x-ray diffraction we find naphthacene films consist of a high density of submicron-sized grains with a surprisingly high degree of molecular order. Thin-film transistors fabricated using evaporated naphthacene films on thermally oxidized silicon substrates have field-effect mobility larger than 0.1 cm²/Vs, current on/off ratio greater than 10⁶, negative threshold voltage, and subthreshold slope of 1 V/decade.