A focused review on organic electrochemical transistors: A potential futuristic technological application in microelectronics

Background

An organic electrochemical transistor (OECT) is an important device in an area of the art in bioelectronics that can convert ionic and biological inputs into electronic outputs with its aqueous environment. The OECTs use a combination of electronic and ionic charges to leverage the mixed conduction properties of materials within their channel. As bioelectronics applications become popular in OECTs, there is a need to standardize the material channel mixed insulation characteristics, however there is some variation in conditions. This review provides an in-depth formulation of OECTs, including their selection mechanisms, use of organic materials, fabrication methods, and applications to bioelectronics devices. Moreover, it offers a critical assessment of OECT’s research and development in the future.

Results

The review is organized as follows: First, we provide an overview of the construction and operation of an OECT device in section 2. Next, in section 3, we describe how OECT behavior differs from conventional metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET), and we discuss how electronic charge transport in the channel by Bernard’s Model. In section 4, we discuss several materials for the transient behavior of OECTs. In section 5, we deal with the recent advances in OECT device fabrication. Then, in section 6, we consider the current applications of OECTs in the fields of biosensing, circuits and logic, neuromorphic computing, and prosthetic and human–machine interfaces. In section 7, we describe limitations concerning the OECT device with expert suggestions to address these limitations. Finally, in section 8, we close the Review with a brief conclusion.

Significance

A significant advancement has been made in this field through the development of innovative approaches, such as spray coating for uniform channel deposition and screen printing for large-scale production. The full potential of OECTs in revolutionizing bioelectronics and healthcare applications will be realized only through collaborative efforts between researchers, engineers, and industry stakeholders.