Characterization and Modeling of Reduced-Graphene Oxide Ambipolar Thin-Film Transistors

The rise of graphene as an innovative electronic material promoted the study and development of new 2-D materials. Among them, reduced graphene oxide (rGO) appears like an easy and cost-effective solution for the fabrication of thin-film transistors (TFTs). To understand the limits and possible application fields of rGO-based TFTs, a proper estimation of the device parameters is of extreme importance. In this work, liquid-gated ambipolar rGO-TFTs are characterized and a description of their working principle is given. Particular attention is paid toward the importance of the transistors’ OFF-state conductivity that was modeled as a resistance connected in parallel with the TFT. Thanks to this model, the main transistor parameters were extrapolated from rGO-TFTs with different levels of electrochemical reduction. The extracted parameters allowed understanding that rGO-TFTs have similar holes and electrons mobilities, and the more pronounced p-type behavior of the devices is due to a positive shift in the p-type and n-type threshold voltages.