Enhancing Thermal and Radiation Hardness of All-Organic Printed Transistors by a Flexible and Transparent Encapsulation Layer for Low Earth Orbit Applications

Organic electronics is a valuable technology for the development of cost-effective, large-area, flexible devices, which have been exploited in several application fields. Although these features are potentially interesting for new space economy applications, such as CubeSat deployment, the actual suitability of organic materials in representative environmental conditions is substantially unexplored. In this article, thermal and radiation hardness of organic field-effect transistors are discussed as a preliminary reliability assessment for their exploitation in low Earth orbit operating devices. The role of eventual encapsulation layers in the variation of electrical parameters is investigated. The effect of temperature step stress in a wide range (20-120 degrees C) is analyzed, as well as the influence of monochromatic and broad-band radiation in the ultraviolet range. Results demonstrate that an appropriate encapsulation reduces the effect and variability of space-representative environmental conditions, thus making organic electronics worth further investigation toward their actual employment in aerospace applications.