Enriched Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes for High Frequency Large Area Flexible Transistor Arrays

A great deal of research has been done on thin film Carbon Nanotube Transistors. Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes (SWNTs) have exceptional electrical properties, High speed circuits require high carrier mobility, and individual SWNTs have a carrier mobility of up to 120,000 cm2/Vs and can be doped n and p-type. Enriched semiconducting SWNTs (s-SWNTs), narrowed down to individual chiralities provide the consistent band gap needed to make transistors with reproducible electrical properties. A scalable process must be implemented to realize the full potential of SWNT based flexible thin film transistors. We propose to ink jet and stamp/transfer enriched s-SWNTs on flexible Kapton substrates to fabricate flexible thin film transistors. Ink jet printing provides controlled lines with small dimensions and great reproducibility coupled with the ability to print s-SWNTs over large areas; while the stamp/transfer method allows for controlled lines and printing many devices at one time. Combining these technologies shows real promise to make large-scale flexible thin film transistors a reality. BENEFIT: Flexible thin film transistors operating upwards of 100GHz are achievable. Eventually, a roll to roll process of fabricating thin film transistors will be possible. Other more complicated circuits will be within reach soon.