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Published on: January 25, 2012
Photodetector arrays directly assembled onto polymer substrates from aqueous solution
Fairland F Amos1, Stephen A Morin, Jeremy A Streifer
1Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA.
Journal of the American Chemical Society
|November 2, 2007
Summary
Researchers developed a low-cost method to directly assemble cadmium sulfide (CdS) semiconductor arrays on flexible plastic sheets. This technique enables the creation of durable, bendable photodetectors for advanced electronics.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
- Electronics Engineering
Background:
- Flexible electronics require robust methods for integrating semiconductor materials onto plastic substrates.
- Current fabrication techniques often involve complex and costly lithography and etching processes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a simple, inexpensive, and direct method for assembling cadmium sulfide (CdS) semiconductor arrays on flexible poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) sheets.
- To demonstrate the viability of these assembled CdS structures for flexible electronic applications, specifically photodetectors.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a polymer-mediated selective nucleation and growth process from an aqueous solution.
- Employed UV photooxidation patterning of the polymer surface to direct the assembly of CdS nanoparticles.
- Fabricated CdS photodetector arrays on PET substrates.
Main Results:
- Successfully assembled CdS semiconductor arrays directly onto flexible PET sheets.
- Demonstrated functional CdS photodetector arrays on PET that exhibit good mechanical stability under bending.
- Achieved a specific detectivity of 3 x 10^11 cm Hz^(1/2) W^(-1) for the fabricated photodetectors at room temperature.
Conclusions:
- The direct assembly strategy offers a cost-effective and scalable approach for fabricating inorganic semiconductor layers on plastics.
- This method eliminates the need for post-deposition lithography and etching, simplifying the manufacturing process.
- The technique holds potential for the development of low-cost, wearable, and disposable flexible electronics.
