Screen-printed transistors with zinc-tin oxide (ZTO) nanostructures

• Main Author: Domingos, Bárbara Catarino
• Publication Date: 2022
• Format: Master thesis
• Language: eng
• Source: Repositórios Científicos de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (RCAAP)
• Download full: http://hdl.handle.net/10362/147196
• topic: Domínio/Área Científica::Engenharia e Tecnologia::Nanotecnologia

The ongoing demand for intelligent, self-sustaining, and multifunction technology, prompts the need to develop environmentally friendly materials, capable of fabricating low cost, recyclable, and flexible electronic components. Printed electronics have emerged as a new technology enabling high cost-efficiency while yielding very promising results, which can be integrated with semiconductor nanostructures. The multicomponent oxide semiconductor zinc-tin oxide (ZTO) is particularly interesting due to its multifunctionality resulting from its excellent electrical and piezoelectrical properties. Moreover, ZTO is a good alternative compared with the most common In-based oxide semiconductors, since it is free of critical elements. This work presents the fabrication of a cellulose-based ink, loaded with ZTO nanostructures, produced via seed-layer free hydrothermal synthesis at only 200 °C. The ink is used for printing a channel between carbon-printed electrodes on paper, using the method of screen printing to produce printed electrolyte-gated transistors on paper, with a cellulose-based ionic conductive sticker as the dielectric. Ink performance was assessed by electrical resistivity measurements, showing a resistivity of the semiconductive layer of 4 MΩ·cm. The electrolyte sticker's great conformability lessens the impact of the channel's surface roughness, resulting in transistors operating with a μSat ≈ 8 cm2·V-1·s-1. This shows how to create reliable, reusable, low-power cellulose-based transistors, ushering in a new age of environmentally friendly "green" electronics