Extremely Bendable, High-Performance Integrated Circuits Using Semiconducting Carbon Nanotube Networks for Digital, Analog, and Radio-Frequency Applications

Abstract

Solution-processed thin-films of semiconducting carbon nanotubes as the channel material for flexible electronics simultaneously offers high performance, low cost and ambient stability, which significantly outruns the organic semiconductor materials. In this work, we report the use of semiconductor-enriched carbon nanotubes for high-performance integrated circuits on mechanically flexible substrates for digital, analog and radio frequency applications. The as-obtained thin-film transistors (TFTs) exhibit highly uniform device performance with on-current and transconductance up to 15 microA/micron and 4 mircoS/micron. By performing capacitance-voltage measurements, the gate capacitance of the nanotube TFT is precisely extracted and the corresponding peak effective device mobility is evaluated to be around 50 sq cm/V/s. Using such devices, digital logic gates including inverters, NAND, and NOR gates with superior bending stability have been demonstrated. Moreover radio frequency measurements show that cutoff frequency of 170 MHz can be achieved in devices with a relatively long channel length of 4 microns, which is sufficient for certain wireless communication applications. This proof-of-concept demonstration indicates that our platform can serve as a foundation for scalable, low-cost, high-performance flexible electronics.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 07, 2012
Accession Number
ADA559172

Entities

People

  • Ali Javey
  • Ali M. Niknejad
  • Chuan Wang
  • Jun-chau Chien
  • Junghyo Nah
  • Kuniharu Takei
  • Toshitake Takahashi

Organizations

  • University of California, Berkeley

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Amplifiers
  • Carbon Nanotubes
  • Circuits
  • Computer Science
  • Dielectrics
  • Electrical Engineering
  • Electronics
  • Films
  • Flexible Electronics
  • Integrated Circuits
  • Logic Gates
  • Materials
  • Materials Science
  • Radio Frequency
  • Semiconductors
  • Thin Film Transistors
  • Thin Films

Fields of Study

  • Materials science

Readers

  • Integrated Circuit Design and Technology.
  • Nanocomposite Materials Science
  • Semiconductor Device Technology

Technology Areas

  • Microelectronics