Ambipolar Field Effect Transistor Based on ZnO/Anthracene Nanocomposite As an Active Single Layer for Balanced Hole and Electron Mobility

In this work, the study of ZnO/anthracene nanocomposite (deposited on the SiO2/Si substrate) as an active layer for a field effect transistor is presented. ZnO/anthracene nanocomposite, synthesized by the sol-gel method, was studied by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The crystallinity of the nanocomposite film decreased compared to that of pure films. Also, the crystal structure of pure anthracene in the nanocomposite structure changed due to the interactions with ZnO. The deconvoluted XPS results indicated that oxidation of anthracene were occurred, led to the formation of the polar functional groups that provided the strong interfacial interaction with Zn+2. The fabricated ZnO/anthracene-FET exhibited ambipolar operation with a well-balanced hole and electron mobility (0.24 and 0.51 cm(2) V-1 S-1, respectively), and low threshold voltages for p- and n-channel (2 and 0.8 V). These mobilities and threshold voltages improved compared to those of pure ZnO and pure anthracene-FET due to the creation of permanent dipoles in the ZnO/anthracene nanocomposite semiconductor layer.