The Secret Ingredient for Exceptional Contact-Controlled Transistors

Contact-controlled transistors are rapidly gaining popularity. However, simply using a rectifying source contact often leads to unsatisfactory operation, merely as a thin-film transistor with low drain current and reduced effective mobility. This may cause otherwise promising experiments to be abandoned. Here, data from literature is analyzed in conjunction with devices that have been recently fabricated in polysilicon, organic and oxide semiconductors, highlighting the main factor in achieving good saturation, namely keeping saturation coefficient gamma well below 0.3. Secondary causes of suboptimal electrical characteristics are also discussed. Correct design of these alternative device structures will expedite their adoption for high gain, low-frequency applications in emerging sensor circuits.