Pneumatic nozzle printing as a versatile approach to crystal growth management and patterning of printed organic thin film transistors

Abstract

We report a novel pneumatic nozzle-based printing technique that has the capability to deposit and control the crystallization and orientation of small molecule organic semiconductor (TIPS-pentacene) thin-films. By adjusting the writing speed to match the solvent evaporation rate at the meniscus, organic crystals were grown along the direction of nozzle movement, resulting in field-effect mobility as high as 0.8 cm2/Vs. Furthermore, we demonstrate the versatility of our technique by depositing electrodes and fabricating all-printed inverters on a flexible substrate with a gain as high as 15.9.