High Speed Roll-to-Roll Printable Transistor Enabled by a Pulsed Light Curable CNT Ink

摘要

This paper reports the first high speed roll-to-roll printable transistor using a carbonnanotube (CNT) semiconducting layer. The transistor is made possible through the development of apulsed light curable CNT ink compatible with typical drop on demand inkjet cartridges. This CNTink uses a xylene based solvent with methanol, glycerin, and Triton X-100 modifiers to create anevaporable solution with appropriate absorption spectra for a mercury or xenon flash lamp withstrong energy transmission in the UVB to mid visible light range, allowing the solution to absorb theenergy from the flash lamp and evaporate. Transistor dimensions were defined by the capabilities ofa typical roll-to-roll drop on demand cartridge. The final device demonstrated an on/off ratio of 104,representing performance similar to gravure printed devices. This represents the first CNT ink whichcan be used in high speed production methods without long thermal curing steps in the workflow.