Fabrication of highly oriented large-scale TIPS pentacene crystals and transistors by the Marangoni effect-controlled growth method

We demonstrate a solution method of Marangoni effect-controlled oriented growth (MOG) to fabricate highly oriented crystals of 6,13-bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl)pentacene (TIPS pentacene) on the Si/SiO2 substrate. Based on the Marangoni effect induced by mixed solvent systems, large area aligned ribbon crystals can be achieved, covering over 60% on 4 cm × 1 cm Si/SiO2 substrates. We investigated the growth mechanism of the MOG method and found that the correct choice of solvents and appropriate solvent ratios are in favor of aligned crystal growth. With the ribbon crystals of TIPS pentacene, top-contact organic field-effect transistors are fabricated. The optimal device exhibits a field-effect mobility of 0.70 ± 0.22 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) and an on/off ratio of 10(5). The MOG method, which has potential to be used in batch production and features easy control of crystal growth using non-contact forces, will benefit the development of low-cost, high-performance, organic semiconductor devices.