Optimization of Carbon Nanotube Thin-Film Transistor Fabrication

,
,

Keywords: ,

Carbon nanotube–based thin-film transistors have recently gained much interest from many researchers and customers for their potential in large-area electronic applications, including flexible electronics. Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) possess the ability to offer a high ON/OFF ratio, high mobility and switching speed, and low power consumption. However, these SWCNTs come as a mixture of metallic and semiconducting CNT species. The metallic CNTs can be a source of metallic transport and can short the electrodes, causing significant OFF-state current and making the devices less efficient. Therefore, CNT type density in the TFT channel plays a major role in TFT performance. Besides geometric and dimensional device factors, there are other factors that significantly affect CNT-TFT performance. Those factors include the dielectric material, electrode material, and CNT-electrode configuration. A better dielectric material with optimized dielectric film thickness offers a better gating effect, while a better electrode material and CNT-electrode configuration offer ohmic contact and a lower Schottky barrier between CNT channel and the metal electrodes. In this presentation, we will discuss these practical aspects of fabricating CNT-TFTs as well as our efforts to optimize device dimensions and variables to fabricate high-performance CNT-TFTs.

PDF of paper:


Journal: TechConnect Briefs
Volume: 1, Nanotechnology 2012: Advanced Materials, CNTs, Particles, Films and Composites (Volume 1)
Published: June 18, 2012
Pages: 240 - 243
Industry sector: Advanced Materials & Manufacturing
Topic: Carbon Nano Structures & Devices
ISBN: 978-1-4665-6274-5