Enhancing the strain limit of stretchable organic transistors by Schottky barrier-dominated transport mode

Stretchable organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) are ideal candidates for wearable technologies, human-machine interfaces, soft robots and implantable devices, but they suffer from mechanical stress concentration, microcracks, and interfacial damage under large geometric variation, which leads to severe performance degradation. To transcend this limitation, we propose an O2 plasma-assisted barrier regulation strategy for the fabrication of the organic source-gated transistor (OSGT). The Schottky barrier dominated transport mode of OSGTs substantially reduces the sensitivity of electrical performance to mechanical strain, thereby enhancing the strain limit of stretchable OFETs under geometric variations. The stretchable OSGTs could maintain a high on/off ratio (106) at 300% strain and the performance has no obvious attenuation. This architectural strategy shifts the focus from material engineering to device design, offering broader prospects for the development of stretchable electronic devices requiring large deformations. Balancing mechanical stretchability and performance is a challenge in flexible devices. Here, the authors develop a universal O₂ plasma-assisted barrier engineering strategy for stretchable organic source-gated transistors, theoretically decoupling electrical performance from strain and enhancing the strain limit.