Modified Bootstrap Switching Scheme for Organic Digital Integrated Circuits

The design and implementation of a modified bootstrap switching circuit based on p-channel organic thin-film transistors and integrated thin-film resistors that addresses the lack of high-performance n-channel organic transistors is presented. Using the bootstrap technique, the fall time of the output stage is decreased by more than a factor of 10, resulting in a 10.39 times higher operating frequency for a load capacitance of 10 nF, and rail-to-rail output swing is achieved. A minimum-area inverter and a Schmitt-trigger-based inverter are presented that serve as references for comparison and as small-footprint alternatives to the bootstrap circuit. The dynamic performance of the proposed circuits is validated by comparing three different ring oscillator implementations.