Porous Organic TFTs for the Applications on Real-Time and Sensitive Gas Sensors

A pentacene-based organic thin-film transistor (OTFT) with a porous active layer is demonstrated for the first time. The porous OTFT exhibits a fast, sensitive, and reversible response to ammonia gas with a detection limit as 500 ppb, whereas the OTFT without porous structure has a slow response and a poor recovery behavior. The sensing mechanism dominated by the dissociation of hydroxyl groups of the polymer dielectric layer is raised and discussed. The proposed device is the first OTFT-based ammonia sensor with reversible response and high sensitivity in low parts-per-million range. It is promising for the development of a diagnostic breath analysis system.