Organic thin-film transistors on a plastic substrate with anodically oxidized high-dielectric-constant insulators

Organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) which use Ta₂O₅ as the gate insulators were fabricated on plastic substrates. The gate insulators were synthesized by anodizing the gate electrodes fabricated as stacked structures of aluminum (Al) and tantalum (Ta) at room temperature. The stacked structure suppressed the stress at the interface between the substrate and metal electrodes so that cracks on Ta could be avoided. The organic semiconductor pentacene was used as the active layer on the gate insulator. The OTFTs showed the best performance at an operating voltage of 5 V and a good field-effect mobility of 0.36 cm²/Vs on plastic substrates. The structural order of the pentacene in the film and the temperature dependence of the leakage current in the insulator were also studied to improve the device characteristics.