JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSICS 101, 014501 共2007兲

Modeling of organic thin film transistors: Effect of contact resistances

Dario Natali,a兲 Luca Fumagalli, and Marco Sampietro
Dipartimento di Elettronica e Informazione, Politecnico di Milano, Piaz Leonardo da Vinci 32,
20133 Milano, Italy
共Received 17 March 2006; accepted 12 October 2006; published online 2 January 2007兲
Field effect transistors require an Ohmic source contact and an Ohmic drain contact for ideal
operation. In many real situations, however, and specifically in organic devices, the injection of
charge carriers from metals into semiconductors can be an inefficient process that is non-Ohmic.
This has an adverse impact on the performance of thin film transistors and makes the analysis of
electrical measurements a complex task because contact effects need to be disentangled from
transistor properties. This paper deals with the effects of non-Ohmic contacts on the modeling of
organic transistors and gives specific rules on how to extract the real transistor parameters 共mobility,
threshold voltage, and contact resistances兲 using only electrical measurements. The method consists
of a differential analysis of the transfer characteristic curves 共current versus gate voltage兲 and
exploits the different functional dependences of current on gate voltage which is induced by the
presence of contact resistances. This paper fully covers the situations from constant carrier mobility
to power law gate-voltage-dependent mobility, from constant contact resistance to
gate-voltage-dependent contact resistance, and in the linear and in the saturation regime of the
operation of the transistor. It also gives important criteria for the validation of the extracted
parameters to assess whether the conditions for the application of the method are fulfilled. Examples
of application to organic transistors showing various behaviors are given and discussed. © 2007
American Institute of Physics. 关DOI: 10.1063/1.2402349兴

I. INTRODUCTION tion range of easily processible metals is somewhat limited.

In recent decades organic semiconductors have received
considerable attention, thanks to some of their attractive
properties such as ease of deposition on large areas by means
of low cost and low temperature techniques, possibility of
tuning their chemical and physical properties by means of
chemical tailoring, electroluminescence covering the entire
visible range, and large light absorption coefficient.1 Never-
theless, organic semiconductors have major drawbacks in the
relatively low mobility of charge carriers arising from the
weak intermolecular interaction in the solid state and in the
fact that doping is problematic because it is interstitial and
not substitutional as in inorganic semiconductors.2 One of
the consequences is that the injection of carriers from metal
into organic semiconductors is an issue.3 In fact, low mobil-
ity makes the injection process inefficient: because of their
very small mean free path, injected carriers are likely to be
trapped by the attractive part of the image potential and to
flow back into the metal. In addition, since doping cannot be
easily pursued 共even though a few examples can be found in
the literature4兲, the strategy of enhancing the current injec-
tion by means of heavy local doping of the semiconductor
interfacial regions to provide a tunneling contact, which is
usually adopted with inorganic semiconductors, is not viable.
Therefore one has to rely on proper alignment of metal
Fermi level with highest共lowest兲 occupied共unoccupied兲 mo-
lecular level in order to achieve an Ohmic contact for holes
共electrons兲. This poses some restrictions to the organic semi-
conductors which can be employed because the work func-
a兲
Electronic mail: dario.natali@polimi.it
Furthermore, even in the case of a potentially good injecting
contact, nonidealities can interfere: from an energetic point
of view surface dipoles can develop at the interface modify-
ing the expected energy level alignment; from a morphologi-
cal point of view the semiconductor can be more disordered
in the region close to the interface and can display worse
transport properties which give rise to a bad electrical
contact.5 The result is that the injecting property of metal-
organic interfaces is often less than ideal.
This has an adverse impact on organic thin film
transistors6,7 共TFTs兲 which require for ideal transistor opera-
tion contacts with the capability of providing any current
with a negligible voltage drop 共Ohmic contacts兲. If contacts
are non-Ohmic, externally applied voltages partly drop on
the channel and partly drop on the contact regions. This situ-
ation can be modeled by adding contact resistances in series
to the source and to the drain terminals. Because of the volt-
age drops across the contact resistances, the current magni-
tude diminishes and its functional dependence on the exter-
nally applied gate and drain voltages is generally altered. As
a consequence, if one tries to extract carrier mobility from
TFT current measurements without taking into account the
effect of contact resistances, only an apparent mobility is
obtained. It underestimates the real one and does not reflect
the real material properties. This effect is more serious with
TFTs with shorter channels, since their smaller resistivity
makes the voltage drop on the contact resistances larger.
Contact resistances have been heavily studied in inor-
ganic TFTs, but models developed for single-crystalline de-
vices are of limited application since they do not take into
account properly the dependence of mobility on the gate

0021-8979/2007/101共1兲/014501/12/$23.00 101, 014501-1 © 2007 American Institute of Physics

Downloaded 19 May 2011 to 115.249.41.221. Redistribution subject to AIP license or copyright; see http://jap.aip.org/about/rights_and_permissions
 014501-2 Natali, Fumagalli, and Sampietro J. Appl. Phys. 101, 014501 共2007兲

voltage which is peculiar to organic and, in general, to amor-

phous and polycrystalline semiconductors. Specific models
have been developed for noncrystalline transistors, but either
the effect of contact resistances is not rigorously treated8–10
or they are based on the scaling law approach, which exploits
the scaling of current with the TFT channel length.11 In the
literature on organic TFTs various strategies have been de-
veloped to deal with the effect of contact resistances on TFT:
numerical fitting;12,13 the scaling law approach;14,15 the four-
probe measurement,16,17 which is an effective and direct
measurement of the potential drop on a portion of the TFT
channel far from the interface regions; and the Kelvin probe
measurement,18,19 which is a powerful method to directly
measure the surface potential of the channel.
The purpose of this paper is to develop a method to
extract the real carrier mobility and the contact resistance
from electrical measurements on TFT structures. These
quantities are essential to the study of the material transport
properties and to the characterization of the injecting prop-
erties of the metal-semiconductor interface. Both the linear
and saturation regimes of transistors are dealt with. This is
important because with low mobility materials the higher
currents that can be obtained in the saturation regime often
make the measurement significantly easier. With respect to
four-probe and Kelvin probe measurements, our method is
based on simple electrical measurements and does not re-
quire either ad hoc lithographies, as in four-probe measure-
ments, or a nontrivial experimental setup as in Kelvin probe
measurements. With respect to numerical fitting, it will be
shown that our method is easier to be applied since no pa-
rameter initialization is needed and the results are easier to
be validated. Only in few cases it will be shown that a scal-
ing law approach, which requires a set of nominal identical
TFTs with different channel lengths, cannot be avoided.
This paper is organized as follows. In Sec. II we intro-
duce the effect of constant contact resistances on the transfer
characteristic curves in the simple case of gate-voltage-
independent mobility, whereas the case of gate-voltage-
dependent mobility, which is more realistic and relevant to
organic semiconductors, is considered in Sec. III. In Sec. IV
the method for the extraction of TFT parameters is outlined
and examples of the application of the method to experimen-
tal data are discussed. In Sec. V we remove the hypothesis of
constant contact resistances to comply with those organic
TFTs that show gate-voltage-dependent contact resistances.
Finally in Sec. VI some conclusions are drawn.
II. TRANSFER CHARACTERISTIC CURVES
FOR GATE-VOLTAGE-INDEPENDENT MOBILITY
AND CONSTANT CONTACT RESISTANCES
We start with the simple case of gate-voltage-
independent mobility ␮0 and constant source and drain con-
tact resistances, RS and RD. In the following we will consider
a n-type TFT. Because of RS and RD, the source and drain
terminals, S and D, respectively, are not physically directly
accessible. We will name S⬘ and D⬘ the physically accessible
terminals, as schematically shown in Fig. 1. Generally speak-
ing, the presence of RS and RD has two effects: 共i兲 the applied
gate voltage VG is not equal to the gate to source voltage VGS
FIG. 1. Electrical model for a TFT affected by contact resistances, RS and
RD, in series with the source and drain terminals, respectively.
because the source terminal is not grounded but its potential
is raised by the amount RSID by the current ID flowing
through RS so that
VGS = VG − RSID; 共1兲
共ii兲 the applied drain voltage VD is not equal to the drain to
source voltage VDS because the source terminal is not
grounded and the drain terminal is connected to VD through
RD so that
VDS = VD − RSDID , 共2兲
where RSD = RS + RD. The situation can be regarded as a non-
linear voltage partition effect between RS, RD, and the TFT,
where the nonlinearity is due to the TFT. We will now derive
analytical expressions for ID, taking into account the effect of
contact resistances by means of Eqs. 共1兲 and 共2兲.
A. Linear regime
We first focus on the regime where VGS Ⰷ VDS. We as-
sume that the applied gate voltage VG is greater than the
applied voltage VD to the extent that VGS Ⰷ VDS. Since VG
Ⰷ VD, and VD is larger than the voltage drop on RS, it turns
out that this latter is negligible with respect to VG. Therefore
Eq. 共1兲 can be simplified to VGS ⯝ VG. Starting from the stan-
dard TFT current equation in the linear regime,
ID = K共VGS − VT兲VDS , 共3兲
where K = ␮0CoxW / L, W and L are the channel width and
length, respectively, Cox is the oxide capacitance per unit
surface, and VT is the threshold voltage, we substitute VGS
with VG and VDS with Eq. 共2兲 and solve for ID, obtaining
KVD共VG − VT兲
ID = . 共4兲
1 + KRSD共VG − VT兲
In the absence of contact resistances the transfer characteris-
tic curves are linear in 共VG − VT兲, whereas in the presence of
contact resistances they are linear in 共VG − VT兲 only asymp-
totically for 共VG − VT兲 → 0 and tend to reach a horizontal as-
ymptote equal to VD / RSD for 共VG − VT兲 → ⬁, as shown in Fig.
2 共left column兲. This occurs because for large VG the channel
resistance becomes negligible with respect to RSD and the
current flow tends to be dominated by the contact resistance
RSD.
Figure 2 also reports ID⬘ , the first derivative of current
with respect to VG: instead of being constant and equal to
KVD, ID ⬘ starts from this value but monotonously tends to 0
for large VG.

Downloaded 19 May 2011 to 115.249.41.221. Redistribution subject to AIP license or copyright; see http://jap.aip.org/about/rights_and_permissions
 014501-3 Natali, Fumagalli, and Sampietro
FIG. 2. Simulation of the transfer characteristic curves ID and of its first
derivative ID⬘ in the linear regime in the case of constant mobility 共left
column兲 and VG-dependent mobility 共right column兲. The curves in solid
lines are affected by constant contact resistances; the dashed lines are for
Ohmic contacts. Parameters: ␮0 = 1 cm2 / V s, ␥ = 0.2, Cox = 10−4 F / m, W / L
= 1000, VT = 0 V, VD = 1 V, and RSD = 5 k⍀.
B. Saturation regime
In the saturation regime we assume that VD is greater
than VG to the extent that the condition VDS ⬎ 共VGS − VT兲 is
met. This requires that the voltage drop on RD is not large
enough to drive the device out of saturation. In this situation
only RS has an influence. Starting from the standard TFT
current equation,
1 hopping model,21 carriers contribute to current flow only
ID = K共VGS − VT兲2 , 共5兲
2
we substitute VGS with Eq. 共1兲 and solve for ID, obtaining
关1 − 冑1 + 2共VG − VT兲KRS兴.
VG − VT 1
ID = + 共6兲
RS KRS2
Because of the contact resistance, the quadratic dependence
on 共VGS − VT兲 is lost. To understand the effect of RS on the
shape of ID it can be useful to expand in a Taylor series the
square root term in Eq. 共6兲. A third order expansion leads to
1 1
ID ⯝ K共VGS − VT兲2 − K2RS共VGS − VT兲3 . 共7兲
2 2
Equation 共7兲 shows that the transfer characteristic curves are
asymptotically quadratic in 共VG − VT兲 for 共VG − VT兲 → 0, but at
large VG the negative cubic term comes into play and makes
the curve less than quadratic, as can be seen from the simu-
lation reported in Fig. 3 共left column兲. The effect on ID ⬘ is
that, instead of being a straight line ID⬘ = K共VGS − VT兲, it is
asymptotic to this latter for 共VG − VT兲 → 0 but for large VG
tends to a horizontal asymptote equal to 1 / RS 共Fig. 3兲. This
occurs because at large VG the TFT has a very low resis-
tance; hence any VG variation practically drops entirely on
RS which dominates ID ⬘.
III. TRANSFER CHARACTERISTIC CURVES
FOR GATE-VOLTAGE-DEPENDENT MOBILITY
AND CONSTANT CONTACT RESISTANCES
We now improve the model, introducing a gate-voltage-
dependent mobility but keeping contact resistances constant.
In organic semiconductors it is usually found that mobil-
ity increases upon VGS, that is upon increasing the carrier
Downloaded 19 May 2011 to 115.249.41.221. Redistribution subject to AIP license or copyright; see http://jap.aip.org/about/rights_and_permissions
J. Appl. Phys. 101, 014501 共2007兲
FIG. 3. Simulation of the transfer characteristic curves ID and of its first
derivative ID⬘ in the saturation regime in the case of constant mobility 共left
column兲 and VG-dependent mobility 共right column兲. The curves in solid
lines are affected by constant contact resistances; the dashed lines are for
Ohmic contacts. Parameters: ␮0 = 1 cm2 / V s, ␥ = 0.2, Cox = 10−4 F / m, W / L
= 1000, VT = 0 V, VD = 30 V, and RS = 5 k⍀.
concentration. Two possible explanations are reported in the
literature. One lies on the multiple trapping and release trans-
port model,20 where only a fraction of the gate induced
charge contributes to the current flow, the remaining part
being trapped in an exponential tail of trapping states; since
the ratio of free versus trapped carriers is larger at higher
levels of injection, the mobility increases with the gate volt-
age. Alternatively, in the framework of the variable range
when they are excited to a so-called transport energy level: at
higher carrier concentration the average starting energy is
closer to the transport energy, which reduces the activation
energy and therefore enhances mobility. In both models mo-
bility follows a power law dependence on VGS,
␮ = ␮0共VGS − VT兲␥ , 共8兲
where ␮0 is an empirical fitting parameter22 defined as the
mobility for 共VG − VT兲 = 1 V. In the following we analyze the
effect of contact resistances when mobility is in the form of
Eq. 共8兲 in the linear and in the saturation regime of a TFT.
A. Linear regime
In case of ideal Ohmic contacts, the TFT current equa-
tion with mobility according to Eq. 共8兲 reads
ID = K共VGS − VT兲共␥+1兲VDS , 共9兲
where a power law dependence on 共VGS − VT兲 is obtained,
which is the fingerprint of mobility in the form of Eq. 共8兲.
The effect of RS and RD is analogous to that outlined in
Sec. II. Substituting Eq. 共2兲 in Eq. 共9兲 and letting VGS = VG,
we obtain
KVD共VG − VT兲␥+1
ID = . 共10兲
1 + KRSD共VG − VT兲␥+1
The power law dependence on 共VG − VT兲 is lost: ID is
asymptotic to the power law of Eq. 共9兲 only for 共VG − VT兲
→ 0 and tends to reach a horizontal asymptote equal to
VD / RSD for large VG, as can be seen in Fig. 2 共right column兲.
⬘ is not monotonous, as it is in the
The first derivative ID
case of VG-independent mobility 共Sec. II兲: for 共VG − VT兲 → 0
it tends to a power law 共as it would be in case of Ohmic
 014501-4 Natali, Fumagalli, and Sampietro J. Appl. Phys. 101, 014501 共2007兲

contacts兲, then reaches a maximum, and finally tends to 0 for f共x兲2 g共x兲2
large VG 共Fig. 2兲. In correspondence of the ID ⬘ maximum,23 z= =␣ . 共14兲
f ⬘共x兲 g⬘共x兲
the transfer characteristic curve shows an upward to down-
ward concavity change. The concavity change in the transfer If we apply this property to the expression of transfer char-
characteristic curve and a nonmonotonous ID ⬘ are the finger- acteristic curves in the linear regime, we obtain a quantity
prints for the presence of constant contact resistances when which does not depend on RSD,
mobility is in the form of Eq. 共8兲.
2
ID K
z= = 共V − VT兲␥+2VD , 共15兲
B. Saturation regime ⬘
ID ␥+1 G
In the saturation regime with ideal Ohmic contacts, the and we are therefore left with three unknowns: ␮0, ␥, and VT.
TFT current equation with a mobility according to Eq. 共8兲 This property, although already demonstrated to hold true for
reads a VG-independent mobility by Jain24 and for specific models
K of mobility including degradation and saturation effects by
ID = 共V − VT兲共␥+2兲 . 共11兲 Fikry et al.,25 is indeed general: it arises only because ID can
␥ + 2 GS
be written in the form of Eq. 共14兲 and it holds true for any
A power law dependence on 共VGS − VT兲 is obtained, which is dependence of mobility on VG.
again the fingerprint of mobility in the form of Eq. 共8兲. At this point one might directly fit Eq. 共15兲 to extract the
To take into account the effect of RS we substitute Eq. remaining unknowns, but it is possible to further reduce the
共1兲 in Eq. 共11兲, and we obtain number of unknowns by noting that z is in the general form,

ID =
K
共V − RSID − VT兲共␥+2兲 .
␥+2 G
共12兲 f共x兲 = 再 ␦共x − x0兲⑀ , x ⬎ x0
0, x ⬍ x0 ,
冎 共16兲

The power law dependence on 共VG − VT兲 is lost because of

contact resistances, but in general it is not possible to derive if we let x = VG, x0 = VT, ␦ = KVD / 共␥ + 1兲, ⑀ = ␥ + 2, and f共x兲
an explicit expression for ID, and therefore very little can be = z. Functions in the form of Eq. 共16兲 have the relevant
said about the nature of the deviation of Eq. 共12兲 from the property8 that the ratio w between the integral function of
power law of Eq. 共11兲. For the same reason, regarding ID ⬘ it is f共x兲 and f共x兲 itself is linear in 共x − x0兲 and does not depend on
only possible to say that it tends to 1 / RS for large VG, as in the multiplying factor ␦,
the case of a VG-independent mobility seen in Sec. II. With 兰xx f共x⬘兲dx⬘
respect to the linear regime, no clear fingerprints for the pres- 1
w= 0
= 共x − x0兲. 共17兲
ence of RS can be found, and it is difficult to assess the f共x兲 ⑀+1
presence of contact resistances from the shape of the transfer
If we apply this property to z in Eq. 共15兲, we obtain
characteristic curve: a deviation from the power law in itself
is not representative since in principle it might be due to ⬘
兰VVGzdVG
other phenomena, different from the presence of contact re-
⬘
兰V0 GzdVG 1
w= T
⯝ = 共V − VT兲, 共18兲
sistances. Simulated plots are reported in Fig. 3 共right col- z z ␥+3 G
umn兲.
where the lower limit of integration has been extended from
VT to 0, under the hypothesis that ID is negligible for VG
IV. EXTRACTION OF TRANSISTOR PARAMETERS
⬍ VT. The quantity w plotted as a function of VG is a straight
WITH THE DIFFERENTIAL METHOD FOR CONSTANT
CONTACT RESISTANCES line and contains only two unknowns, ␥ and VT, which can
be easily extracted from its slope and from its abscissa inter-
For the case of mobility in the form of Eq. 共8兲 and of section, respectively. With these two parameters, we can now
constant contact resistances, we develop a method for the solve Eq. 共15兲 for K and then extract ␮0. In this way three
extraction of the TFT parameters, ␮0, ␥, VT, and the contact TFT parameters are known, and it is possible to extract the
resistances RS and RD. The method simply requires an elec- last unknown parameter RSD. If we solve Eq. 共10兲 for RSD,
trical measurement on a single device, and it can be applied we obtain
both in the linear and in saturation regimes.
VD 1
RSD = − = Rtot − RTFT . 共19兲
A. Parameter extraction in the linear regime ID K共VG − VT兲␥+1
Equation 共10兲 can be rewritten as follows: The series of the contact resistances RSD is calculated as the
␣g共x兲 difference between the overall device resistance Rtot and the
f共x兲 = , 共13兲 TFT resistance RTFT.
1 + ␤g共x兲
To ascertain whether the conditions for the applicability
if we let ␣ = KVD, ␤ = KRSD, g共x兲 = 共VG − VT兲␥+1, and f共x兲 of the method are met 关namely, mobility in the form of a
= ID. Functions in the form of Eq. 共13兲 have the relevant power law of 共VG − VT兲 as in Eq. 共8兲 and constant contact
property that the ratio z between f共x兲2 and the first derivative resistances兴 and, consequently, to validate the extracted pa-
of f共x兲 does not depend on ␤, rameters, w has to be a straight line with a slope between 0

Downloaded 19 May 2011 to 115.249.41.221. Redistribution subject to AIP license or copyright; see http://jap.aip.org/about/rights_and_permissions
 014501-5 Natali, Fumagalli, and Sampietro
FIG. 4. Experimental transfer characteristic curve ID vs VG in the linear
regime of a poly-3-hexylthiophene TFT with L = 3 ␮m measured at 兩VD兩
= 1 V 共ID, top兲. The first derivative ID⬘ with respect to VG has been obtained
by numerical differentiation 共bottom兲.
and 1 / 3, provided that ␥ can range from infinity to 0, and the
extracted contact resistance when plotted against VG has to
be a horizontal line.
B. The differential method in the linear regime:
An example
We analyze the application of the method to poly-3-
hexylthiophene-based transistors.
Transistors have been developed in bottom contact con-
figuration. An oxide layer, 130 nm thick acting as a gate
dielectric, has been grown by thermal oxidation on a highly
p-doped silicon layer, acting as the gate. Platinum-titanium
drain and source contacts, with titanium acting as an adhe-
sion layer, have been photolithographically defined on the
oxide surface. Devices with channel lengths ranging from
3 to 12 ␮m and channel widths of 15 mm have been devel-
oped. Silicon dioxide has been plasma polished for 10 min
共Hummer Sputter Coater 6.2 Anatech LTD兲, functionalized
by immersion for 10 min in a 10% by volume solution of
dimethyldichlorosilane in chloroform and rinsed in pure
chloroform for 5 min. Poly-3-hexylthiophene 共Aldrich, re-
gioregularity 97%兲 was purified by soxhlet extraction in
methnanol and hexane. A 3 mg/ ml chloroform solution was
prepared, filtered through a 0.45 ␮m pore size PTFE mem-
brane and spin coated at 2000 rpm. Electrical measurements
have been performed in vacuum, at about 10−5 mbar, with a
HP4142B modular dc source/monitor.
In Fig. 4 the measured transfer characteristic curve in the
linear regime of a TFT with L = 3 ␮m, recorded at 兩VD兩
= 1 V, and its first derivative ID⬘ , obtained by means of nu-
merical differentiation, are shown. From the fact that ID
tends to saturate for high VG and that ID ⬘ is nonmonotonous
共comparable to Fig. 2, right column兲, it can be expected that
constant contact resistances and VG-dependent mobility in
the form of Eq. 共8兲 are present.
Starting from the transfer characteristic curve and from
⬘ , it is possible to compute the quantities z and w according
ID
to Eqs. 共15兲 and 共18兲, respectively, which are shown in Fig.
5. From the plot of w we extract ␥ = 0.057 and VT
= −5.47 V. From z we compute K and hence ␮0 = 0.783
⫻ 10−2 cm2 / V s, and finally it is possible to extract RSD
= 34.9 k⍀. This latter is plotted in Fig. 6 共top兲 together with
the VG-dependent mobility 共bottom兲. The initial guess sug-
Downloaded 19 May 2011 to 115.249.41.221. Redistribution subject to AIP license or copyright; see http://jap.aip.org/about/rights_and_permissions
J. Appl. Phys. 101, 014501 共2007兲
FIG. 5. Quantities z 共top兲 and w 共bottom兲 calculated with the differential
method presented in Sec. IV A starting from ID and ID⬘ of Fig. 4. The dashed
line 共bottom兲 represents a linear interpolation of w in the range 兩VG兩
⬎ 14 V: intersection with the w = 0 axis gives VT, from the line slope ␥
= 0.057 is calculated.
gested by the shape of ID and ID ⬘ is confirmed through the
application of the method.26 The effect of contact resistances
can now be assessed in a quantitative way and turns out to be
considerable: at 兩VG兩 = 30 V half of the applied voltage 兩VD兩
= 1 V drops on the contact resistance and half drops on the
transistor channel.
It has to be noted that the conditions for the application
of the method are met only for 兩VG兩 ⬎ 14 V: only in this
range is w linear in 共VG − VT兲, as evidenced in Fig. 5, and RSD
VG independent, as stated in Fig. 6 共top兲.
1. Differential method versus fitting procedure
Let us now compare the results obtained with the differ-
ential method with the ones that might be obtained with a
simple fitting procedure on the same experimental data of
Fig. 4.
Firstly, the experimental curve has been fitted by means
of Eq. 共10兲 in the range of validity of the differential method,
that is, for 兩VG兩 ⬎ 14 V. Extracted parameters are summa-
rized in Table I and the mobility obtained by fitting is also
plotted in Fig. 6 共fit 1, bottom兲. The two procedures produce
the same results and are indeed equivalent because they are
based on the same equation for the current and they are ap-
plied on the same data range.
Secondly, we apply the fitting procedure without using
the information gained with the differential method, that is,
FIG. 6. Top: contact resistance RSD extracted with the differential method of
Sec. IV A starting from ID and ID⬘ of Fig. 4. The dashed line is a linear fitting
to RSD in the range 兩VG兩 ⬎ 14 V. Bottom: comparison between the mobility
extracted with the differential method of Sec. IV A 共solid line兲 and the
mobility obtained by means of fitting with Eq. 共10兲 in two ranges: 兩VG兩
⬎ 14 V 共fit 1兲 and 兩VG兩 ⬎ 7 V 共fit 2兲.
 014501-6 Natali, Fumagalli, and Sampietro J. Appl. Phys. 101, 014501 共2007兲

TABLE I. Comparison of TFT parameters for the example of Sec. IV B

extracted in the linear regime by means of the differential method 共valid for
兩VG 兩 ⬎ 14 V兲, by means of fitting with Eq. 共10兲 for 兩VG 兩 ⬎ 14 V, and by
means of fitting with Eq. 共10兲 for 兩VG 兩 ⬎ 7 V.

␮0 共cm2 / V s兲 VT 共V兲 ␥ RSD 共k⍀兲

Differential method 0.78⫻ 10−2 −5.47 0.057 34.9

Fitting Eq. 共10兲 for 兩VG 兩 ⬎ 14 V 0.82⫻ 10−2 −5.62 0.045 34.9
Fitting Eq. 共10兲 for 兩VG 兩 ⬎ 7 V 0.61⫻ 10−2 −5.02 0.166 37.6

by starting from 兩VG兩 = 7 V based on the fact that the transfer FIG. 7. Transfer characteristic curve in the saturation regime of a poly-3-
characteristic curve extends nicely for 兩VG兩 ⬎ 5 V. A sizeable hexylthiophene TFT with L = 3 ␮m measured at 兩VD兩 = 30 V 共ID, top兲. The
first and second derivatives with respect to VG have been obtained by nu-
difference between the differential method and the fitting merical differentiation 共ID⬘ and ID⬙ , bottom兲.
method starts to display, as can be appreciated from Table I
and from Fig. 6 共fit 2, bottom兲. The fitting procedure returns
a mobility which is not correct in the range 7 V ⬍ 兩VG兩 ⬙
ID ␥+1
z−1ID = ID = ⬘ 兲,
共1 − RSID 共22兲
⬍ 14 V, as it overestimates the real mobility even in the ⬘2
ID ␥+2
range 兩VG兩 ⬎ 14 V, which was correctly fitted when the fitting
where only two unknowns are left, ␥ and RS. Equation 共22兲
range was 兩VG兩 ⬎ 14 V. This highlights the important advan-
⬘ , making it easy to ex-
is a straight line if plotted against ID
tage of the differential method over the fitting procedure. The
tract ␥ and RS from the ordinate intersection and from the
parameters of the fitting curve are chosen to minimize the
slope of the curve, respectively. To extract the other two
mean square error between the experimental data and the
unknowns we can calculate VGS = VG − RSID and plot ID
fitting curve over a chosen data range, which is tentatively
against VGS. This latter plot is a power law in 共VGS − VT兲
adjusted to exclude the region where the fitting is not good
according to Eq. 共12兲 and therefore can be fitted directly to
because of model inadequacy. On the contrary, the differen-
extract VT and ␮0, or we can apply the property of Eq. 共17兲
tial method presented here is applied pointwise: the self-
to obtain the quantity w,
consistency tests indicated in Sec. IV A permit us to identify
directly and unambiguously the data ranges where results are ⬘
兰VVGSIDdVGS ⬘
兰V0 GSIDdVGS 1
not correct because the method cannot be applied, without w= T
⯝ = 共V − VT兲. 共23兲
ID ID ␥ + 3 GS
compromising the extraction of parameters in the data ranges
where the method can be correctly applied. From the abscissa intersection of w it is possible to extract
VT, and finally it is possible to solve ID to extract K and
hence ␮0.
C. The differential method in the saturation regime To ascertain whether the conditions for the applicability
of the method are met, namely, the mobility in the form of a
We now turn to the problem of extracting TFT param- power law of 共VG − VT兲 as in Eq. 共8兲 and constant contact
eters from transfer characteristic curves in the saturation re- ⬘ has to be a
resistances, the plot of the quantity z−1 ID vs ID
gion. This can be advantageous with respect to the extraction straight line with a negative slope and its intersection with
in the linear regime because of the flowing of higher cur- the y axis has to occur at an ordinate between 1 / 2 and 1,
rents. provided that ␥ can range from 0 to infinity; w has to be a
⬘ which reads
It is useful to start from the expression of ID straight line with a slope between 0 and 1 / 3.

dID K共VG − VT − RSI兲␥+1 D. The differential method in the saturation regime:

⬘=
ID = . 共20兲
dVG 1 + KRS共VG − VT − RSI兲␥+2 An example
We now apply the method to the experimental transfer
If we let ␣ = K, ␤ = KRS, and g共x兲 = 共VG − VT − RSI兲␥+1, ID
⬘ has characteristic curve reported in Fig. 7, measured on a TFT
the same form of Eq. 共13兲, so we can apply again the prop- with L = 3 ␮m, recorded at 兩VD兩 = 30 V 共TFT realization as in
erty of Eq. 共14兲. The quantity z in this case reads Sec. IV B兲.
From experimental data we have computed by means of
numerical differentiation the first and second derivatives of
⬘2
ID ⬘
1 − R SI D
z= = 共␥ + 1兲 . 共21兲 the current with respect to VG, ID ⬘ and ID⬙ respectively, also
⬙
ID K共VG − VT − RSI兲␥+2 shown in Fig. 7: these are the starting quantities to extract
transistor parameters with the differential method.
With respect to the linear regime, we now have to compute In Fig. 8 we plot z−1ID vs ID ⬘ : in the range 5 V ⬍ 兩VG兩
both the first and the second derivative with respect to VG of ⬍ 11.5 V, z−1ID is a straight line with a negative slope and
the experimental transfer characteristic curve. In the quantity with an ordinate intersection occurring between 0.5 and 1,
z all the four unknowns are still present, but if we multiply meaning that the TFT is affected by constant contact resis-
z−1 by ID, we obtain the following relevant quantity: tances. From the ordinate intersection we extract ␥ = 1.05 and

Downloaded 19 May 2011 to 115.249.41.221. Redistribution subject to AIP license or copyright; see http://jap.aip.org/about/rights_and_permissions
 014501-7 Natali, Fumagalli, and Sampietro J. Appl. Phys. 101, 014501 共2007兲

FIG. 9. Top: percent difference between the experimental transfer charac-

FIG. 8. Quantity z−1ID calculated with the differential method presented in teristic curve of Fig. 7 and the curves reconstructed by means of the differ-
Sec. IV C starting from ID, ID⬘ , and ID⬙ of Fig. 7. The ordinate intersection of ential method 共solid line兲 and by means of the fitting 共dashed line兲. Bottom:
the linear fit in the range 5 V ⬍ 兩VG兩 ⬍ 11.5 V gives ␥, and its slope gives RS. mobility extracted by means of the differential method 共solid line兲 and by
means of the fitting 共dashed line兲.

from the slope we extract RS = 8.35 k⍀. Outside this range,

z−1ID does not behave clearly as a straight line and the
method cannot be applied, which means that mobility is not
in the form of a power law and/or contact resistances are not
constant. The parameter extraction is completed by calculat-
ing VGS and by fitting the ID vs VGS plot. Results are sum-
marized in Table II. Although the effect of contact resistance
is minor in this case as the voltage drop on RS is only 0.6 V
for 兩VG兩 = 11.5 V, the method is able to identify the presence
of the contact resistance.
obtained by fitting is different from the one extracted by
means of the differential method, as shown in Fig. 9 共bot-
tom兲: it has a higher ␮0 but a lower ␥ factor 共extracted pa-
rameters are reported in Table II兲. Indeed, we know from the
method that contact resistances play a role in the range
5 V ⬍ 兩VG兩 ⬍ 11.5 V and therefore the fitting, which does not
take into account the contact resistance, is less accurate than
the method.

V. METHODS FOR VG-DEPENDENT CONTACT

1. Differential method versus fitting procedure
Let us compare these results with those which can be
obtained by means of a simple fitting approach directly on
the transfer characteristic curve of Fig. 7. We have seen that
in the saturation regime explicit expressions for the transfer
characteristic curves are available only in two special cases:
constant contact resistances with ␥ = 0 关Eq. 共6兲兴 or arbitrary ␥
but in the absence of contact resistances 关Eq. 共11兲兴.
The fitting in the framework of the first model, which is
based on VG-independent mobility, is not meaningful: by us-
ing Eq. 共7兲, which is the third order Taylor expansion of Eq.
共6兲, the cubic term has a positive coefficient instead of a
negative one, which means that the contact resistance should
be negative. This occurs because the transfer characteristic
curve is more than quadratic, instead of being less than qua-
dratic as requested by Eq. 共6兲. On the contrary, the fitting in
the framework of the second model, VG-dependent mobility
and absence of contact resistances, is possible, as it predicts
transfer characteristic curves to be more than quadratic,
which is experimentally found. By fitting the curve in the
range 5 V ⬍ 兩VG兩 ⬍ 27.5 V, the difference between the fitting
curve and the experimental measurement is in the range of a
few percent only, but using the method this difference is less
than 0.1%, as it is shown in Fig. 9 共top兲. Also the mobility
RESISTANCES
It is often reported in the literature that contact resis-
tances can be VG dependent.12,14–17,19,27–31 We investigate
how to extract TFT parameters when contact resistances
have an arbitrary dependence on VG.
To solve the problem, which has one more degree of
freedom with respect to the case of VG-independent contact
resistances analyzed in Sec. IV, let us bias the TFT in the
linear regime and reconsider z, the key quantity of the dif-
ferential method presented in Sec. IV A. In the case of
VG-dependent contact resistances the reciprocal of z reads
⬘
ID ␥+1 ⬘
RSD
z−1 = = ␥+2 − . 共24兲
2
ID KVD共VG − VT兲 VD
With respect to the case of VG-independent contact resis-
tances, there is an additional term which contains the first
derivative of RSD with respect to VG. Note that only the first
addendum in Eq. 共24兲 depends on K and therefore on the
TFT channel length L; the second addendum does not de-
pend on K under the reasonable assumption that contact re-
sistances are interface related phenomena and do not depend
on the transistor length. We can exploit this feature to extract
TFT parameters.

TABLE II. Comparison of TFT parameters for the example of Sec. IV D extracted in the saturation regime by
means of the differential method of Sec. IV C 共valid for 5 V ⬍ 兩VG 兩 ⬍ 11.5 V兲 and by means of fitting with Eq.
共11兲 for 5 V ⬍ 兩VG 兩 ⬍ 27.5 V.

␮0 共cm2 / V s兲 VT 共V兲 ␥ RS 共k⍀兲

Differential method 8.3⫻ 10−4 1.8 1.05 8.35

Fitting Eq. 共11兲 for 5 V ⬍ 兩VG 兩 ⬍ 27.5 V 5.98⫻ 10−3 −1.03 0.305 0

Downloaded 19 May 2011 to 115.249.41.221. Redistribution subject to AIP license or copyright; see http://jap.aip.org/about/rights_and_permissions
 014501-8 Natali, Fumagalli, and Sampietro
Let us consider two nominally identical TFTs with dif-
ferent channel lengths L1 and L2 and let us calculate z1 and z2
according to Eq. 共24兲. Since in these quantities the second
addendum RSD ⬘ / VD is the same, they can be combined to
eliminate it,
␥+1
共z*兲−1 = z−1 −1
1 − z2 = * , 共25兲
K VD共VG − VT兲␥+2
where K = ␮0CoxW / 共L1 − L2兲. As the quantity z does not de-
* *
pend on RSD, we can now simply follow the recipe for the
VG-independent contact resistances in the linear regime cal-
culating w* ⯝ 共兰V0 Gz*dV⬘G兲 / z* = 共VG − VT兲 / 共␥ + 3兲, extracting
VT and ␥ from it, calculating K* from z*, and then solving for
RSD according to Eq. 共19兲. The reliability of obtained results
is assured by checking that w* plotted against VG is a straight
line with slopes between 0 and 1 / 3.
Attempts to solve the problem in the saturation regime
proved unsuccessful: as a consequence of the implicit nature
of Eq. 共12兲, it was not possible to write the relevant quantity
z as the sum of L-dependent and L-independent addenda and
then to exploit a scaling law approach as in the linear regime.
A. Contact resistances with a power law dependence
on VG
We now investigate a particular VG dependence of con-
tact resistances. Let us assume that contact resistances are
due to accumulated regions characterized by a low mobility:
in top contact TFTs these could be identified as the regions
under the source and drain electrodes,31 partially damaged by
the contact deposition; in bottom contact TFTs they could be
identified with the regions whose morphology is disturbed by
the presence of a triple interface formed by the dielectric, the
contact metal, and the semiconductor. In both these cases
contact resistances would depend on the reciprocal of the
number of accumulated carriers na times their VG-dependent
mobility, R ⬀ 关na␮共VG兲兴−1. If we now assume that the mobil-
ity in the channel region and the mobility in the contact
region are characterized by the same ␥ but by different mul-
tiplying factors, ␮0 and ␮cont, respectively, contact resis-
tances have a power law dependence on 共VG − VT兲 and can be
written in the general form
␣ Klin ␮0CoxW W
R= , 共26兲
W共VG − VT兲␥+1
with ␣ = Lcont / Cox␮cont, where Lcont is the length of the con-
tact accumulation channel.32 It is easy to see by direct sub-
stitution of Eq. 共26兲 into Eqs. 共10兲 and 共12兲 that such a de-
pendence has an unexpected impact on the transfer
characteristic curves: unlike the case of constant contact re-
sistances presented in Sec. III, transfer characteristic curves
retain the power law functional dependence on VG encoun-
tered in the case of Ohmic contacts, and contact resistances
affect only the multiplying constant. In the linear regime we
have
ID = Klin共VG − VT兲共␥+1兲VD , 共27兲
where
Downloaded 19 May 2011 to 115.249.41.221. Redistribution subject to AIP license or copyright; see http://jap.aip.org/about/rights_and_permissions
J. Appl. Phys. 101, 014501 共2007兲
K
Klin = .
1 + K␣/W
In the saturation regime we have
ID = Ksat共VG − VT兲共␥+2兲 , 共28兲
where
冉 冊
␥+2
K ␣Ksat
Ksat = 1− .
␥+2 W
Whereas with constant contact resistances the departing
from the power law arises because of the nonlinear partition
effect between the TFT and the contact resistances, with the
dependence on VG as in Eq. 共26兲, a compensation occurs
between the nonlinearities of the TFT and those of the con-
tact resistances. In fact, the higher the VG, the higher the ID
but the lower the contact resistances, and the net result is that
the partition between these two nonlinear elements remains
linear. Therefore in the linear regime VDS is linearly propor-
tional to the applied VD and in the saturation regime VGS is
linearly proportional to the applied VG.
Since in this case the dependence of ID on VG is not
altered by contact resistances, a differential approach cannot
be used and one must resort to a scaling law approach to
extract TFT parameters, exploiting the dependence of the
multiplying factors on L. In other words, this means that
even if ID shows a power law dependence on 共VG − VT兲, this
does not imply the absence of contact resistances, but only
the absence of VG-independent contact resistances: if the
methods outlined in Sec. IV return contact resistances being
equal to 0 ⍀, this means that constant contact resistances are
equal to 0 ⍀, but nothing can be said about the presence of
VG-dependent contact resistances in the form of Eq. 共26兲.
Therefore in the case of ID following the power law form of
Eqs. 共9兲 and 共11兲, one should always perform a scaling law
test. Methods to deal with such situations are outlined below.
1. Linear regime
The parameters ␥ and VT can be easily obtained from the
transfer characteristic curves. To extract the VG-dependent
contact resistance, we observe that
1 L ␣
= + . 共29兲
Therefore plotting 1 / Klin vs L, a straight line should be ob-
tained: from its intersection with the y axis ␣ can be calcu-
lated, and from its slope ␮0 can be extracted.
2. The linear regime with constant and VG-dependent
resistances: An example
Let us consider now a contact resistance given by the
sum of constant term and of a VG-dependent term, RSD
= RSD0 + ␣ / 关W共VG − VT兲␥+1兴. In this case, firstly one should
apply the method of Sec. IV A to extract the VG-independent
term RSD0 and the parameters VT, ␥, and Klin, and secondly
1 / Klin should be plotted versus L to extract ␮0 and ␣.
As an example we consider the case of bottom contact
pentacene based transistors33 having a 230 nm thick SiO2
 014501-9 Natali, Fumagalli, and Sampietro
TABLE III. Parameters of TFTs of Sec. V A 2. To extract ␥, VT, and the constant part of the contact resistances
RSD0, the method of Sec. IV A has been applied 共the range of validity is also reported in the table兲. Subsequently
the method of Sec. V A 1 has been applied to extract the VG-dependent part of the contact resistance in terms
of ␣ and ␮0.
L 共␮m兲 VT 共V兲 ␥ RSD0 共k⍀兲
2.5 +1.8 0.22 535
10 +1.6 0.32 493
20 +1.72 0.38 529
layer, Gold-indium tin oxide 共ITO兲 drain and source contacts
共ITO acting as an adhesion layer兲, channel lengths ranging
from 2.5 to 20 ␮m, and channel widths of 10 mm. Silicon
dioxide had been functionalized with 1,1,1,3,3,3-
hexamethyldilisazane 共HMDS兲 共Merck兲 applied in gas phase
at 110 ° C, and pentacene was synthesized according to Ref.
34, purified in a Craphys sublimator and deposited without
heating the substrates with a rate of 0.01– 0.02 nm/ s at a
pressure of 1.1⫻ 10−7 mbar. The final pentacene thickness
was of 30 nm. Electrical measurements have been performed
under ambient conditions by means of a Credence M3650
test system.
Transfer characteristic curves in the linear regime, mea-
sured at 兩VD兩 = 1 V, do not behave according to power laws.
Therefore, firstly they have been analyzed by means of the
method of Sec. IV A to extract RSD0, the constant part of the
the contact resistance. Results are reported in Table III in
terms of RSD0, VT and ␥ and show that TFTs were affected by
constant contact resistances RSD0 in the range of 500 k⍀.
Secondly, a scaling law test has been performed on the
extracted Klin by plotting 1 / Klin versus L. As shown in Fig.
10 共top兲, the intersection with the y axis does not occur in the
origin, which means that VG-dependent contact resistances in
the form of Eq. 共26兲 are present, in addition to the already
extracted constant term RSD0. The extracted parameters ␣ and
␮0 are reported in Table III.
In Fig. 10 共bottom兲 the apparent mobility, no more af-
fected by the constant contact resistance RSD0 but still af-
fected by the VG-dependent contact resistance, and the real
mobility, are shown as functions of L for 兩VG兩 = 10 V. The
apparent mobility underestimates the real mobility: the dif-
FIG. 10. Top: extraction of ␣ and ␮0 for the example of Sec. V A 2 exploit-
ing the dependence of Klin on L. Bottom: ␮app is the mobility at 兩VG兩
= 10 V extracted applying only the method of Sec. IV A and consequently
still affected by VG-dependent contact resistances; ␮real is obtained combin-
ing the differential method of Sec. IV A with the scaling law method of Sec.
V A 1 and reflects the real material property.
Downloaded 19 May 2011 to 115.249.41.221. Redistribution subject to AIP license or copyright; see http://jap.aip.org/about/rights_and_permissions
J. Appl. Phys. 101, 014501 共2007兲
兩VG兩 range 共V兲 ␣ 共k⍀ V m兲 ␮0 共cm2 / V s兲
4–17 109 1.6⫻ 10−2
4–12 109 1.6⫻ 10−2
4–20 109 1.6⫻ 10−2
ference between the two can be as high as an order of mag-
nitude for L = 2.5 ␮m. This is consistent with the fact that
after the extraction of the only RSD0, the voltage drop on the
TFT, calculated as VD − ⌬VRSD , would appear to be of the
0
order of 0.5– 0.6 V, whereas in reality, after the extraction of
the VG-dependent term also, it is only in the range of 60 mV.
In Fig. 11 it is shown how the amount of the voltage drop on
the VG-dependent part of the contact resistance gets progres-
sively smaller for the longer channels. As a consequence, the
difference between the apparent and real mobilities dimin-
ishes. The residual dependence of the mobility on L is due to
the different ␥ factors of the TFTs.
3. Comparison with the scaling law approach
Now we compare the results of our method, in which we
combined a differential approach and a scaling law approach,
with the results that would have been obtained on the same
data through a pure scaling law approach.
To this extent we solve Eq. 共27兲 for the total device
resistance Rtot = VD / ID to highlight the dependence on L,
Rtot =
VD
ID
= 冉L
+
␮0CoxW W
␣
冊
共VG − VT兲−共␥+1兲 + RSD0 . 共30兲
Equation 共30兲 states that if we plot Rtot vs L for different VG,
we obtain a bundle of straight lines whose center lies in the
second quadrant at the coordinates 共−␮0Cox␣ , RSD0兲. The
slope of the lines decreases if VG increases. It is interesting to
note that in the case of constant contact resistances the center
of the bundle is located on the y axis at Rtot = RSD, and in the
case of pure VG-dependent contact resistances, 共that is RSD0
= 0 ⍀兲, it is located on the x axis at L = −␮0Cox␣.
FIG. 11. For the example of Sec. V A 2, percent voltage drop on the tran-
sistor channel 共⌬VTFT兲, on the constant contact resistance 共⌬VRSD 兲, and on
0
the VG-dependent part of the contact resistances 共⌬VR共VG兲兲. Percent voltage
drops are shown as a function of VG for L = 2.5, 10, and 20 ␮m.
 014501-10 Natali, Fumagalli, and Sampietro
FIG. 12. Pure scaling law approach applied to the same experimental data
used for Figs. 10 and 11. The position of the center of the bundle is different
from the one which is expected applying our method 共solid circle兲 and
provides a constant contact resistance RSD0 ⯝ 900 k⍀ instead of RSD0
⯝ 500 k⍀.
The Rtot vs L plot is shown in Fig. 12. Straight lines
which approximatively converge to a point in the second
quadrant can be drawn. From its coordinates we extract
RSD0 ⯝ 900 k⍀ and ␮0␣ ⯝ 366⫻ 10−3 ⍀ m3 / s. These values
should be compared with RSD0 ⯝ 500 k⍀ and ␮0␣ = 183
⫻ 10−3 ⍀ m3 / s obtained with our method. To understand the
reasons for these differences, note that the pure scaling law
approach needs the TFTs with different L to be identical in
terms of ␮0, ␥, VT, and ␣. But this is not true in our case as
evidenced by the results in Table III: the factor ␥ varies with
L, and in particular it is higher for shorter channels. There-
fore, in the Rtot vs L plot, the points relative to shorter chan-
nel lengths have an ordinate higher than expected, and the
extracted parameters are not correct. With the differential
method instead, RSD0, ␥, and VT are extracted separately on
each device and are therefore allowed to vary. When the
dependence of Klin on L is exploited in Eq. 共29兲, only ␣ and
␮0 are required to be identical among the devices with dif-
ferent L, thus relaxing the requisite of identical parameters
among the TFTs with different channel lengths.
4. Saturation regime
Due to the difficulty to find an explicit expression for
Ksat in Eq. 共28兲, let us expand Ksat in a Taylor series. To first
order it gives
冉 冊冉 冊
1 K
Ksat ⯝ , 共31兲
␥+2 1 + K␣/W
where the second multiplying factor arises because of contact
resistances.
It is useful in this case to calculate 1 / Ksat,
冉 冊
1 L ␣ the 3 ␮m channels, which are the most severely affected by
= 共␥ + 2兲 + .
Ksat ␮0CoxW W
The parameters ␣ and ␮0 can be obtained by plotting 1 / Ksat
vs L, in analogy to the procedure for the linear regime of
Sec. V A 1
In the special case of ␥ = 0, Ksat can be solved in closed
form,
Downloaded 19 May 2011 to 115.249.41.221. Redistribution subject to AIP license or copyright; see http://jap.aip.org/about/rights_and_permissions
J. Appl. Phys. 101, 014501 共2007兲
Ksat = 冋
K 2W 2W2
+
2 K ␣ K 2␣ 2
冉 冑
1− 1+
2K␣
W
冊册 , 共33兲
with the second multiplying factor arising because of contact
resistances. The only two unknowns in this case are ␣ and ␮0
which can be extracted measuring Ksat共L兲 from devices with
different L, and fitting it with Eq. 共33兲. It can be useful to
simplify the fitting and to consider a Taylor series expansion
of Ksat. If we call ␮app the apparent mobility extracted with-
out taking into account the presence of contact resistances,
2ID
␮app = 共VG − VT兲2 , 共34兲
CoxW/L
expanding Ksat to third order, it turns out that
冉
␮app = ␮0 1 −
␮0Cox␣
L
.冊 共35兲
In Eq. 共35兲 the term ␮0Cox␣ / L can be interpreted as the
percent error made extracting the mobility without taking
into account contact resistances: the higher the ␮0 and the
shorter the L, the larger the percent error because the tran-
sistor is more conductive and the relative incidence of con-
tact resistances is larger. The recipe to extract contact resis-
tances goes as follows: from a set of TFTs with different L,
one has to extract ␮app according to Eq. 共34兲. If plotted ver-
sus 1 / L, the values of ␮app should fit on a straight line with
a negative slope: the extrapolated intersection with the ordi-
nate axis gives ␮0, while from the slope it is possible to
extract ␣. In the following an example of application is
given.
5. The saturation regime with ␥ = 0: An example
The TFT active material used in this case is a co-
oligomer based on fluorenone and thiophene moieties,35 2,7-
bis共5⬘-n-hexyl-2 , 2⬘-bithiophene-5-yl兲-fluoren-9-one, and it
has been vacuum deposited on substrates held at different
temperatures Tsub during deposition 共100, 130, 150, and
190 ° C兲. On each substrate channel lengths of 3, 6, and
12 ␮m were present 共substrates as in Sec. IV B兲.
Transfer characteristic curves can be well fitted by the
quadratic law of Eq. 共6兲, but ␮app, the mobility extracted
according to Eq. 共34兲, is L dependent, and in particular it is
higher for the longer channel lengths, as shown in Fig. 13.
Therefore it is to be concluded that VG-dependent contact
resistances in the form of Eq. 共26兲 are present. An example
of mobility extraction according to the scaling law approach
of Sec. V A 4 is given for Tsub = 190 ° C in Fig. 14, where the
␮app vs 1 / L plot is reported. The overall results in terms of
␮0 are reported in Fig. 13: the apparent mobility underesti-
mates the real one by a factor which can be as high as 3 for
共32兲
contact resistances. The values of the contact resistances as a
function of VG are plotted in Fig. 15. For VG close to VT, RS
can be as high as a few megaohms; for large VG, RS de-
creases to a value which can range from tens of kilohms for
Tsub = 130 ° C to almost 1 M⍀ for Tsub = 190° C. Interestingly
enough, the lowest contact resistance corresponds to the set
of TFT grown at Tsub = 130° C, which gave the highest mo-
 014501-11 Natali, Fumagalli, and Sampietro
FIG. 13. Apparent mobility 共␮app兲 extracted according to Eq. 共34兲 in the
saturation regime from the set of TFTs of Sec. V A 5 共hollow stars L
= 3 ␮m, hollow circles L = 6 ␮m, and hollow squares L = 12 ␮m兲. Dashed
lines are only a guide to the eye. Also plotted is the mobility 共␮0, solid
triangles兲 extracted according to the scaling law method of Sec. V A 4.
bility. This can be more easily appreciated by looking at Fig.
16, where the factor ␣, which sets the magnitude for contact
resistances, is plotted versus ␮0: the higher the ␮0, the lower
the ␣ and the contact resistance. This agrees with recently
published experiments on TFTs 共Refs. 29 and 30兲 and on
diodes36 and can be explained on the basis of the theory of
metal-organic semiconductor interface developed by Scott
and Malliaras,37 which predicts the rate of carrier injection to
be proportional to the carrier mobility.
VI. CONCLUSIONS
This paper has shown how powerful the differential
method can be in extracting from simple electrical measure-
ments the relevant parameters of organic TFTs when in the
presence of contact resistances and of a mobility dependent
on the gate voltage as a power law. The large spectrum of
cases that has been analyzed reflects the many real physical
situations encountered in the realization of organic transis-
tors and can be synthetically summarized in the following.
Constant contact resistances modify the dependence of
current on the gate voltage. In the linear regime of transistor
operation, the method requires the transfer characteristic
curve and its first derivative as inputs; in the saturation re-
gime also the second derivative of current with respect to
FIG. 14. Example of extraction of mobility with the scaling law method of
Sec. V A 4 for a TFT held at Tsub = 190 ° C during vacuum deposition of the
active material 共see Sec. V A 5兲. For each channel length 共nominal values:
L = 3, 6, and 12 ␮m, values obtained by means of optical microscopy L = 2,
5, and 11.5 ␮m兲, maximum 共down triangles兲, minimum 共down triangles兲,
and mean measured apparent mobilities 共squares兲 are reported. The dashed
line is a linear interpolation of the mean apparent mobilities: from its y axis
intersection ␮0 has been obtained; from its slope ␣ has been extracted.
Downloaded 19 May 2011 to 115.249.41.221. Redistribution subject to AIP license or copyright; see http://jap.aip.org/about/rights_and_permissions
J. Appl. Phys. 101, 014501 共2007兲
FIG. 15. Gate-voltage-dependent contact resistances RS extracted from the
set of TFTs of Sec. V A 5 according to the scaling law method of Sec.
V A 4. Data refers to the TFTs with L = 6 ␮m.
gate voltage is needed. The method returns the mobility, the
threshold voltage and the value of contact resistances. The
method also gives important criteria for the validation of the
extracted parameters to assess whether the conditions for its
application are fulfilled. With respect to the fitting procedure,
the method has three advantages: 共i兲 it can be applied even in
the absence of an explicit expression for current, as in the
saturation regime, 共ii兲 it does not require any parameter ini-
tialization, and 共iii兲 it is applied pointwise. This latter means
that data ranges where the underlying device model is not
applicable to the experimental measurements can be easily
identified, and they do not compromise the parameter extrac-
tion in the remaining data ranges.
In the case of contact resistances with an arbitrary de-
pendence on the gate voltage, we propose a method which
applies only in the linear regime and combines a differential
approach together with a scaling law approach: the transfer
characteristic curves, together with their first derivatives, of
two nominally identical TFTs with different channel lengths
are needed as inputs of the method.
Finally the special case of contact resistances with a
power law dependence on the gate voltage has been consid-
ered. Interestingly enough, the dependence of current on the
gate voltage is not altered by contact resistances, since the
nonlinearities of the TFT and of the contact combine to give
a linear partition effect. Therefore this case would be indis-
tinguishable from a transistor with Ohmic contacts, except
for the dependence of current on the channel length. Conse-
quently, a scaling law test should always be performed to
discriminate between the two cases and to assess the correct
TFT parameters.
FIG. 16. Parameter ␣ of the contact resistances extracted from the set of
TFTs of Sec. V A 5 according to the scaling law method of Sec. V A 4.
 014501-12 Natali, Fumagalli, and Sampietro
Combining the methods above, also the general case of
contact resistances given by the sum of a constant term and
of a gate-voltage-dependent term can be treated: the former
is extracted by means of the differential method, the latter
exploiting the dependence of the current on the channel
length. With respect to the pure scaling law approach, our
method proves to be more robust, thanks to the reduced num-
ber of parameters required to be identical among transistors
with different channel lengths
The given examples have shown that the effect of con-
tact resistances on real organic TFT can be significant and
that their correct extraction can be managed with the help of
the methods presented in the paper.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors are grateful to A. Bolognesi and P. Di Gian-
vincenzo 共ISMAC-CNR, Milano, Italy兲 for poly-3-
hexylthiophene purification and deposition and to S. Masci
for careful bonding of devices. Data on pentacene TFTs are
courtesy of Dr. Olaf R. Hild, Fraunhofer Institut für Photo-
nische Mikrosysteme 共IPMS兲, Dresden 共Germany兲. The fi-
nancial support of Project Teseo 共Fondazione Cariplo兲 and of
Project MIUR-FIRB RBNE033KMA are also gratefully ac-
knowledged.
1
S. R. Forrest, Nature 共London兲 428, 911 共2004兲.
2
B. A. Gregg, S. Chen, and R. A. Cormier, Chem. Mater. 16, 4586 共2004兲.
3
J. C. Scott, J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 21, 521 共2003兲.
4
W. Gao and A. Kahn, J. Appl. Phys. 94, 359 共2003兲.
5
I. Kymissis, C. D. Dimitrakopoulos, and S. Purushothaman, IEEE Trans.
Electron Devices 48, 1060 共2001兲.
6
G. Horowitz, J. Mater. Res. 19, 1946 共2004兲.
7
H. Sirringhaus, Adv. Mater. 共Weinheim, Ger.兲 17, 2411 共2005兲.
8
A. Cerdeira, M. Estrada, R. Garcìa, A. Ortiz-Conde, and F. J. G. Sànchez,
Solid-State Electron. 45, 1077 共2001兲.
9 33
A. Ortiz-Conde, F. J. G. Snchez, J. J. Liou, A. Cerdeira, M. Estrada, and Y.
Yue, Microelectron. Reliab. 42, 583 共2002兲.
10
M. Estrada, A. Cerdeira, A. Ortiz-Conde, F. J. G. Sanchez, and B. Iñiguez,
Solid-State Electron. 46, 2295 共2002兲.
11
P. Servati, D. Striakhilev, and A. Nathan, IEEE Trans. Electron Devices
50, 2227 共2003兲.
12
R. A. Street and A. Salleo, Appl. Phys. Lett. 81, 2887 共2002兲.
13
G. Horowitz, P. Lang, M. Mottaghi, and H. Aubin, Adv. Funct. Mater. 14,
1069 共2004兲.
Downloaded 19 May 2011 to 115.249.41.221. Redistribution subject to AIP license or copyright; see http://jap.aip.org/about/rights_and_permissions
J. Appl. Phys. 101, 014501 共2007兲
14
H. Klauk, G. Schmid, W. Radlik, W. Weber, L. Zhou, C. D. Sheraw, J. A.
Nichols, and T. N. Jackson, Solid-State Electron. 47, 297 共2003兲.
15
P. V. Necliudov, M. S. Shur, D. J. Gundlach, and T. N. Jackson, Solid-
State Electron. 47, 259 共2003兲.
16
P. V. Pesavento, R. J. Chesterfield, C. R. Newman, and C. D. Frisbie, J.
Appl. Phys. 96, 7312 共2004兲.
17
R. J. Chesterfield, J. C. McKeen, C. R. Newman, C. D. Frisbie, P. C.
Ewbank, K. R. Mann, and L. L. Miller, J. Appl. Phys. 95, 6396 共2004兲.
18
L. Bürgi, T. J. Richards, R. H. Friend, and H. Sirringhaus, J. Appl. Phys.
94, 6129 共2003兲.
19
K. P. Puntambekar, P. V. Pesavento, and C. D. Frisbie, Appl. Phys. Lett.
83, 5539 共2003兲.
20
G. Horowitz, M. E. Hajlaoui, and R. Hajlaoui, J. Appl. Phys. 87, 4456
共2000兲.
21
M. C. J. M. Vissenberg and M. Matters, Phys. Rev. B 57, 12964 共1999兲.
22
This definition is equivalent to considering for the VG-dependent mobility
the following expression: ␮ = ␮0关共VG − VT兲 / 1 V兴␥, where the term 共VG
− VT兲 has been normalized to 1 V so that the unit of measure of ␮0 is
cm2 / V s. Equation 共8兲 has been preferred for compactness of notation.
23
The maximum occurs for 共VG − VT兲 = 兵␥ / 关共␥ + 2兲共KRSD兲兴其1/共␥+1兲.
24
S. Jain, Proc. IEEE 135, 162 共1988兲.
25
W. Fikry, G. Ghibaudo, H. Haddara, S. Cristoloveanu, and M. Dutoit,
Electron. Lett. 31, 762 共1995兲.
26
The presence of a maximum for ID⬘ , which has been considered as a fin-
gerprint of VG-independent contact resistances and of VG-dependent mo-
bility in the form of Eq. 共8兲, indeed occurs for 兩VG兩 = 8 V in a region where
the method cannot be rigorously applied. The position and magnitude of
the maximum are slightly different from those of a TFT with constant
contact resistances and with VG-dependent mobility.
27
I. Yagi, K. Tsukagoshia, and Y. Aoyagi, Appl. Phys. Lett. 84, 813 共2004兲.
28
G. B. Blanchet, C. R. Fincher, M. Lefenfeld, and J. A. Rogers, Appl. Phys.
Lett. 84, 296 共2004兲.
29
B. H. Hamadani and D. Natelson, Appl. Phys. Lett. 84, 443 共2004兲.
30
E. J. Meijer, G. H. Gelinck, E. van Veenendaal, B.-H. Huisman, D. M. de
Leeuw, and T. M. Klapwijk, Appl. Phys. Lett. 82, 4576 共2003兲.
31
J. Zaumseil, K. W. Baldwin, and J. A. Rogers, J. Appl. Phys. 93, 6117
共2003兲.
32
As a consequence of the definition of ␮0 共see Ref. 22兲 the unit of measure
of ␣ is ⍀ mV. This is equivalent to considering for the VG-dependent
contact resistance the following expression: R = ␣ / W关共VG − VT兲 / 1 V兴␥共VG
− VT兲.
Pentacene transistors have been prepared and electrically characterized at
Fraunhofer Institut für Photonische Mikrosysteme 共IPMS兲, Dresden, Ger-
many.
34
Patent Application No. DE10 2005/058 270.2 共pending兲.
35
W. Porzio, S. Destri, U. Giovanella, M. Pasini, T. Motta, D. Natali, M.
Sampietro, and M. Campione, Thin Solid Films 492, 212 共2005兲.
36
Y. Shen, M. W. Klein, D. B. Jacobs, J. C. Scott, and G. G. Malliaras, Phys.
Rev. Lett. 86, 3867 共2001兲.
37
J. C. Scott and G. G. Malliaras, Chem. Phys. Lett. 299, 115 共1999兲.