Frequency dependent electrical transport properties of 4,4′,4″-tris(N-3-methylphenyl-N-phenylamine)triphenylamine by impedance spectroscopy

Abstract The frequency dependent ac conduction mechanism in 4,4′,4″-tris(N-3-methylphenyl-N-phenylamine)triphenylamine (m-MTDATA) has been studied as a function of applied bias and temperature. The Cole–Cole plot shows a slightly depressed semicircle indicating Debye type relaxation. This result has been explained by an equivalent circuit of the device designed as a two parallel resistor and capacitance network in series with contact resistance. The ac conduction studies under dc bias for hole only devices shows an increase in device conductivity with the increase in bias. The variation of bulk resistance with applied bias indicates Space Charge Limited Conduction (SCLC) mechanism for hole conduction. The hole mobility of the material has also been evaluated from SCLC as 8.859 × 10 −6 cm 2 /V s. The temperature dependent impedance studies show two activation energies indicating two different phase of the material with a phase transition at 235 K.