Effects of Lateral Ion Currents in Organic Electrochemical Transistors

The Organic Electrochemical Transistor (OECT) is a key device for the bioelectronic field as it operates in a very low voltage range and transduces ionic into electronic signals. The transconductance of OECTs, which is a parameter that represents the sensitivity of transistors, is very high compared to silicon-based transistors, and hence facilitates effective transduction of ionic signals into electronic signals essential for efficient bio-sensing. However, a convincing model describing its working mechanism is still lacking as many observations are not well explained. We discuss the experimental results with the help of simulation results using 2D model [1] correctly accounting for lateral drift and diffusion of ions inside polymer channel, resulting in a better understanding of the working mechanisms of OECTs in general and more specifically a better understanding of the scaling laws of this new technology [2].

References
[1] V. Kaphle, P. R. Paudel, D. Dahal, R. K. Radha Krishnan, and B. Lüssem, Nat. Commun. 11, 1 (2020).
[2] P. R. Paudel, V. Kaphle, D. Dahal, R. K. Radha Krishnan, and B. Lüssem, Adv. Funct. Mater. 11, 2004939 (2020).