Highly stable hysteresis-free carbon nanotube thin-film transistors by fluorocarbon polymer encapsulation

We report hysteresis-free carbon nanotube thin-film transistors (CNT-TFTs) employing a fluorocarbon polymer (Teflon-AF) as an encapsulation layer. Such fluorocarbon encapsulation improves device uniformity with excellent operation stability in air and even in water. The fluoropolymers possess high hydrophobicity for efficient removal of water molecules from the vicinity of nanotubes, which are known to induce charge trapping. In addition, the strong dipole associated with the carbon-fluorine bonds can provide effective screening of the charge carriers in nanotubes from various trap states in the substrate. We also report on the extended applications of encapsulation with Teflon-AF for the realization of dual-gate CNT-TFTs, where one gate is used to control the threshold voltage and the other to switch the device. The fluorocarbon encapsulation technique presents a promising approach for enhanced device reliability, which is critical for future system-level electronics based on CNTs.