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Fraunhofer IPMS develops chips for organic semiconductor characterization
New interdigital electrode chips enable parallel, high-precision material testing, accelerating development of organic electronic devices and sensor technologies.
www.fraunhofer.de
© Fraunhofer IPMS: New measurement adapter for simultaneous contacting of up to eight interdigital electrode pairs.
Fraunhofer IPMS has developed new measurement chips and a dedicated adapter that address a longstanding limitation in the characterization of organic semiconductors. The solution enables the simultaneous electrical contact of up to eight interdigital electrode pairs, significantly improving the efficiency and reproducibility of material testing for emerging electronic applications.
Organic and hybrid electronic materials play a growing role in technologies such as organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), organic solar cells, organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) and metal oxide-based gas sensors. However, their characterization has traditionally been time-consuming, as contacting multiple electrode structures in parallel posed practical and technical challenges. Fraunhofer IPMS has now closed this gap with a combination of newly designed interdigital electrode chips and a purpose-built measurement adapter.
© Fraunhofer IPMS: Chip AX1580, 15x15 mm², with 8 gold interdigital electrode pairs with a channel width of 10 mm and channel lengths of 2.5, 5, 10, and 20 µm. The chip itself can be used as a gate electrode; the gate oxide between the gate and the interdigital electrodes is typically SiO2 with a thickness of 230 nm.
The interdigital electrode structures are designed to support sensitive electrical measurements of advanced functional materials. By enabling parallel contact to multiple electrode pairs, the new adapter allows researchers to collect comparable datasets under identical conditions, improving measurement quality while reducing test time. This is particularly relevant for iterative material optimization, where small design or process changes must be evaluated quickly and reliably.
Over the past several years, Fraunhofer IPMS has refined the chip platform in close collaboration with industrial partners and research clients. The development included modifications to electrode geometries, electrode materials, and gate oxide composition and thickness, allowing the platform to be adapted to different application requirements. The result is a flexible test structure that can be tailored to specific material systems and device concepts.
© Fraunhofer IPMS: Exploded view of the measurement adapter showing the position of the AX1580 chip. The red sockets connect to the gate, while the SMA sockets each connect to a source-drain pair.
Using the new chips, researchers can accurately measure key electrical parameters such as conductivity, field-effect behavior, contact resistance and charge carrier mobility. These parameters are critical for assessing material suitability and for optimizing device performance in organic and thin-film electronics. The improved characterization capability supports faster development cycles and more reproducible process transfer toward industrial applications.
A selection of the interdigital electrode chips and the new measurement adapter will be presented at Analytica 2026 at the Fraunhofer booth A3, stand 312. The presentation will focus on application-specific measurement scenarios and practical use cases for materials research and electronic device development.
www.ipms.fraunhofer.com
Fraunhofer IPMS has developed new measurement chips and a dedicated adapter that address a longstanding limitation in the characterization of organic semiconductors. The solution enables the simultaneous electrical contact of up to eight interdigital electrode pairs, significantly improving the efficiency and reproducibility of material testing for emerging electronic applications.
Organic and hybrid electronic materials play a growing role in technologies such as organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), organic solar cells, organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) and metal oxide-based gas sensors. However, their characterization has traditionally been time-consuming, as contacting multiple electrode structures in parallel posed practical and technical challenges. Fraunhofer IPMS has now closed this gap with a combination of newly designed interdigital electrode chips and a purpose-built measurement adapter.
© Fraunhofer IPMS: Chip AX1580, 15x15 mm², with 8 gold interdigital electrode pairs with a channel width of 10 mm and channel lengths of 2.5, 5, 10, and 20 µm. The chip itself can be used as a gate electrode; the gate oxide between the gate and the interdigital electrodes is typically SiO2 with a thickness of 230 nm.
The interdigital electrode structures are designed to support sensitive electrical measurements of advanced functional materials. By enabling parallel contact to multiple electrode pairs, the new adapter allows researchers to collect comparable datasets under identical conditions, improving measurement quality while reducing test time. This is particularly relevant for iterative material optimization, where small design or process changes must be evaluated quickly and reliably.
Over the past several years, Fraunhofer IPMS has refined the chip platform in close collaboration with industrial partners and research clients. The development included modifications to electrode geometries, electrode materials, and gate oxide composition and thickness, allowing the platform to be adapted to different application requirements. The result is a flexible test structure that can be tailored to specific material systems and device concepts.
© Fraunhofer IPMS: Exploded view of the measurement adapter showing the position of the AX1580 chip. The red sockets connect to the gate, while the SMA sockets each connect to a source-drain pair.
Using the new chips, researchers can accurately measure key electrical parameters such as conductivity, field-effect behavior, contact resistance and charge carrier mobility. These parameters are critical for assessing material suitability and for optimizing device performance in organic and thin-film electronics. The improved characterization capability supports faster development cycles and more reproducible process transfer toward industrial applications.
A selection of the interdigital electrode chips and the new measurement adapter will be presented at Analytica 2026 at the Fraunhofer booth A3, stand 312. The presentation will focus on application-specific measurement scenarios and practical use cases for materials research and electronic device development.
www.ipms.fraunhofer.com
