Environmental sensitivity of pentacene thin-film transistors

By alternating the gate voltage polarity of a pentacene thin film transistor, we show that the drain current is stabilized and thus the bias stress effect is overcome. This allows for controlled testing of the device sensitivity to environmental conditions. We find that the conductivity of the device decreases on the time scale of seconds when the device is exposed to water vapor, which is manifested through a decrease in mobility and a shift in the threshold voltage. Simple recombination modeling suggests that trapping is the responsible mechanism. However, the effects of water vapor can be reversed by exposing the device to dry nitrogen flow. The time scale for recovery is on the order of 10s of minutes.