Monolayer organic field-effect phototransistors: Photophysical characterization and modeling

Оrganic field-effect transistors (OFET) can combine photodetection and light amplification and, for example, work as phototransistors. Such organic phototransistors can be used in light-controlled switches and amplifiers, detection circuits, and sensors of ultrasensitive images. In this work, we present photophysical characterization of well-defined ultrathin organic field-effect devices with a semiconductive channel based on Langmuir-Blodgett monolayer film. We observe clear generation of photocurrent under illumination with a modulated laser at 405 nm. The increase of photocurrent with the optical modulation frequency indicates the presence of defect states serving as traps for photogenerated carriers and/or the saturation of charge concentration in the thin active layer. We also propose a simple one-dimensional numerical model of a photosensitive OFET. The model is based on the Poisson, current continuity and drift-diffusion equations allows future evaluation of the photocurrent generation mechanism in the studied systems.