In this Project, we report the use of high-purity semiconducting carbon nanotube networks and 2-dimensional III-V nanomembranes for high-performance integrated circuits on mechanically flexible substrates for digital, analog, and radio-frequency applications. We have demonstrated high-performance carbon nanotube thin-film transistors (TFTs) with on-current, transconductance, and field-effect mobility up to 15 uA/um, 4 uS/um, and 50 cm2/Vs. Using such devices, digital logic gates with superior bending stability have been demonstrated. We have also employed a self-aligned device architecture to fabricate RF transistors with channel lengths down to 75 nm using InAs nanomembranes on flexible substrates. Measurements reveal that such devices provide an impressive cutoff frequency of 105 GHz, representing the best performance achieved for transistors fabricated directly on mechanically flexible substrates. The results demonstrate that our platform can serve as a foundation for scalable, low-cost, high-performance flexible electronics, enabling multiple types of nanomaterials to be heterogeneously integrated on flexible substrates for advanced system-level integrated circuits.
Project end date: 08/16/13