Physics of Organic Field-Effect Transistors

The invention of the germanium transistor in 1947 [1, 2] marked the birth of modem microelectronics, a revolution that has profoundly influenced our current way of life. This early device was actually a bipolar transistor, a structure that is mainly used nowadays in amplifiers. However, logical circuits, and particularly microprocessors, preferentially use field-effect transistors (FETs), the concept of which was first proposed by Lilienfield in 1930 [3], but was not used as a practical application until 1960 [4]. In a FET, the current flowing between two electrodes is controlled by the voltage applied to a third electrode. This operating mode recalls that of the vacuum triode, which was the building block of earlier radio and TV sets, and of the first electronic computers. 

Semiconducting Polymers Chemistry, Physics and Engineering. Edited by G. Hadziioannou and P.R van Hutten Copyright 1999 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH, Weinheim ISBN 3-527-29507-0 

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