Ultra-Flexible, Invisible Thin-Film Transistors Enabled by Amorphous Metal Oxide/Polymer Channel Layer Blends

Abstract

Metal oxide (MO) semiconductors have attracted considerable attention for next-generation electronic devices because of their high carrier mobilities, even in the amorphous state, and good environmental stability. [15] Equally important, the high optical transparency of MO semiconductors can enable fully transparent thin-film transistors (TFTs), which are essential for the fabrication of invisible circuits and to increase the aperture ratio of active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) and liquid-crystal (LC) displays. [ 6 10 ] Therefore, since the first report of a fully transparent MO-based TFT in 2003, [13] extensive academic and industrial efforts have focused on enhancing device performance for both opaque and transparent applications. [11,12] Nevertheless, the best performing MO TFTs are typically fabricated by capital-intensive physical and chemical vapor deposition processes. Thus, a key issue for inexpensive large-scale roll-to-roll production is to enable MO TFT manufacturing with solution-based process methodologies. Another key feature of amorphous MO semiconductors is tolerance to mechanical stress, a requirement for device fabrication and utilization on flexible substrates.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 25, 2015
Accession Number
ADA625232

Entities

People

  • Donald B. Buchholz
  • Fengyuan Shi
  • Junsheng Yu
  • Li Zeng
  • Nanjia Zhou
  • Peijun Guo
  • Qianli Ma
  • Robert P. Chang
  • Vinayak P. Dravid
  • Xinge Yu

Organizations

  • Northwestern University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Advanced Electronics

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Advanced Materials
  • Charge Carriers
  • Crystals
  • Fabrication
  • Films
  • Materials
  • Materials Science
  • Metal Oxides
  • Organic Light Emitting Diodes
  • Oxides
  • Semiconductors
  • Spectra
  • Spectroscopy
  • Thin Film Transistors
  • Thin Films
  • Transistors
  • X Rays

Fields of Study

  • Materials science

Readers

  • Integrated Circuit Design and Technology.
  • Solar Photovoltaics and Thermoelectric Devices.
  • Thin Film Deposition Science.

Technology Areas

  • Microelectronics
  • Microelectronics - Graphene