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A general route toward complete room temperature processing of printed and high performance oxide electronics
Tessy T Baby1,2, Suresh K Garlapati1,3, Simone Dehm1
1†Institute for Nanotechnology, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Hermann-von-Helmholtz Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany.
ACS Nano
|February 20, 2015
Summary
Researchers developed room-temperature processed printed oxide field-effect transistors (FETs) and complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) inverters. This breakthrough enables high performance using inexpensive, flexible substrates for additive manufacturing.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Electronics Engineering
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Solution-processed field-effect transistors (FETs) require high charge carrier mobility, reliability, environmental stability, and low-temperature processing.
- Oxide semiconductors offer potential but typically require high processing temperatures, limiting their use with flexible substrates and additive manufacturing.
- High annealing temperatures hinder the integration of oxide FETs into cost-effective, high-throughput manufacturing methods like printing.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate a novel approach for fabricating printed oxide FETs entirely at room temperature.
- To overcome the high-temperature processing limitation of oxide semiconductors for additive manufacturing.
- To achieve high electrical performance in room-temperature processed oxide FETs and complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) circuits.
Main Methods:
- Development of a chemically controlled curing process for printed oxide nanoparticle inks.
- Preparation of n-type (In2O3) and p-type (Cu2O) oxide semiconductor nanoparticle dispersions.
- Inkjet printing of FETs and all-oxide CMOS invertors followed by room-temperature processing.
Main Results:
- Achieved completely room-temperature processed printed oxide FETs with high charge carrier mobility up to 12.5 cm(2)/(V s).
- The chemical curing process resulted in dense thin films and excellent interparticle electrical contacts.
- Fabricated all-oxide CMOS invertors using inkjet-printed In2O3 and Cu2O, demonstrating significant signal gain (∼18) at 1.5 V supply voltage.
Conclusions:
- A viable room-temperature processing method for high-performance printed oxide electronics has been established.
- This approach enables the use of oxide semiconductors with flexible substrates for additive manufacturing.
- The demonstrated technology paves the way for low-cost, high-throughput fabrication of advanced electronic devices.
