| Oct 17, 2012 |
Invisible transistors for transparent electronics
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(Nanowerk News) The future of the electronics industry, particularly consumer electronics, may well be miniaturised, flexible and transparent devices. EU-funded scientists are making progress toward developing the appropriate transistors.
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Transparent devices rely on essentially invisible electronic and optoelectronic circuits. In order to have invisible circuitry, one must have optically transparent thin-film transistors (TFTs). Conventional semiconductor materials and technology are not easily adapted to such applications.
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Traditional organic semiconductors absorb light in the visible range of the electromagnetic spectrum, making them visible to the naked eye. In addition, their performance is inhibited when processed from a solution as is necessary to produce TFTs.
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European scientists set out to develop new materials and their processing methods for fabrication of transparent electronics and displays with EU funding of the Organic Electronics project.
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To date, scientists have developed new materials tested in organic thin-film transistor (OTFT) architectures. Theoretical (density-functional-theory, DFT) calculations have greatly enhanced experimental results.
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Researchers have achieved organic semi-conducting structures including nanowires and carbon nanotubes (CNTs), and tested the most promising materials in transparent TFT structures.The structures demonstrate electrical performance (charge carrier mobility) competitive with that of state-of-the-art materials, among the highest of those reported in the literature.
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Continued work promises to push the frontiers of flexible, transparent electronics with optimisation of materials and processing technology for superior-performance, transparent TFTs.
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