Capacitive Ionic Current Measurement in a Polymer-Electrolyte Transistor

Abstract

Organic transistors that use dissolved ions to conduct current are able to reproduce the current-voltage characteristics of semiconductor transistors. The polymer-electrolyte transistor (PET) consists of a three-source acid/base reaction system, where a polymer gel separates the three source electrolytes and allows for transistor activity in the movement of the ions through the gel. The ability to directly measure the ionic current in the polymer of a PET reaction system without interfering with the reaction is a difficult task. Understanding the interfacial properties of an electrode-polymer junction will allow for a non-invasive method of directly measuring the ionic currents of the PET. The complex dielectric properties of a polymer system are considered, as well as the effect of the polymer-electrode interface.