Intrinsically stretchable field-effect transistors
- PDF / 742,518 Bytes
- 7 Pages / 585 x 783 pts Page_size
- 23 Downloads / 245 Views
Introduction Imagine a large-area electronic display that can be folded to easily fit into your pocket, a rollable window curtain that illuminates the room, or a smartphone screen that doubles in size when stretched. Recent efforts to develop stretchable and wearable electronics suggest that such scientific fantasies may soon become a reality. Flexible electronics that are bendable and can withstand small strains, usually no more than 1%, have already penetrated the marketplace. We refer to stretchable electronics that can survive strains of at least 10% and thus can endure exotic shape changes such as folding, twisting, and conforming to complex curvilinear surfaces.1 Among the large number of electronic devices, the thin-film field-effect transistor (TFT) is a fundamental building component enabling a variety of electronic applications, such as dynamic information displays and imaging sensors.2 Currently, combining elastic interconnects with discrete rigid (nonstretchable) functional transistor units is the most widely used strategy for the fabrication of stretchable TFT arrays.3–6 The rigid and brittle transistor units are embedded in or bonded onto the surface of soft rubbery polymers. The resulting TFTs typically show high stretchability and efficiency since the TFT units do not accommodate deformation during stretching. However, there is a tradeoff between device
density and stretchability as large portions of elastic interconnecting regions are required between transistor units to realize stretchability.7 The fabrication process is also cumbersome and incompatible with fully solution-printed processes. Another strategy to realize stretchable TFTs is to construct stretchable TFTs in which all the constituent materials are elastomeric, namely intrinsically (fully) stretchable TFTs.7–13 A TFT is a three-terminal device comprised of source, drain, and gate electrodes with a dielectric and a semiconducting channel. Developing an intrinsically stretchable TFT entails development of each component with elastomeric stretchability. Extensive efforts have been carried out to investigate stretchable electrodes with high stretchability and conductivity. Advanced materials and processing techniques developed in recent years for stretchable electrodes employing carbon-based materials such as carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene, metallic materials such as metal nanowires and liquid metal, and conducting polymer such as poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) offer new approaches that could be explored for the development of stretchable source, drain, and gate electrodes in intrinsically stretchable TFTs.13–15 However, developing dielectric and active channel materials with high stretchability and efficiency still requires additional attention.
Jiajie Liang, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials of Ministry of Education, Institute of Polymer Chemistry, Nankai University, China; [email protected] Kwing Tong, Department of Materials Sciences
Data Loading...
