Wafer-Scale Thermophoretic Dry Deposition of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Thin Films

We report the direct and dry deposition of transparent conducting films (TCFs) of aerosol-synthesized single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) using a thermophoretic precipitator (TP) designed for the uniform and efficient deposition of aerosol-synthesized nanomaterials on 50 mm wafers or similarly sized polymer substrates. The optical and electrical performance of the fabricated TCFs match or surpass the published results achieved using a filter-based collection of aerosol-synthesized SWNTs, and TCFs with sheet resistances of 60 Ω/sq. at 87.8% transmittance and 199 Ω/sq. at 96% transmittance on flexible polymer substrates are demonstrated. The precipitator design is immediately applicable in roll-to-roll fabrication of SWNT TCFs or other functional coatings of aerosol-synthesized nanomaterials.