High-speed transparent flexible electronics

Abstract

A high-speed flexible transistor made with an ultrapure carbon nanotube (CNT) solution is reported. The carrier transport layer of the CNT-based flexible transistor is formed at room temperature by dispensing a tiny droplet of an electronics-grade CNT solution. Ultra high field-effect mobility of ~ 48,000 cm2/(V×s) has been demonstrated on a thin-film field effect transistor (TFT). A simple trans-impedance voltage follower circuit was made using the CNT-TFT on a transparency film. The circuit exhibited a high modulation speed of 312 MHz and a large current-carrying capacity beyond 20 mA. The transparency and the sheet resistance of the CNT-film were also characterized at different wavelengths. The ink-jet printing-compatible process would enable mass production of large-area electronic circuits on virtually any desired flexible substrate at low cost and high throughput.