Printed inorganic transistors

Forty years of exponential growth of semiconductor technology have been predicated on the miniaturization of the transistors that comprise integrated circuits. While complexity has greatly increased within a given area of processed silicon, the cost per area has not decreased. Current fabrication methods are further hindered by high facility costs and environmentally unfriendly processing. Moving to a new means of semiconductor fabrication may drastically reduce both financial and environmental costs. One such approach is based on the extension of printing techniques to the fabrication of electronic devices. Such printed electronics are envisioned to enable applications in flexible displays and electronic paper, personal fabrication, wearable computing, and disposable medical diagnostics. This dissertation focuses on the development of printable materials, specifically inorganic semiconductor inks. At the outset of this research, organic semiconductors were the only materials known and pursued as printable semiconductors. The ability to process organic semiconductors in common organic solvents makes them amenable to a wide range of printing technologies, but their electrical performance is fundamentally limited and their utility is confined to applications in which only low speeds are required. The goal of this thesis was to demonstrate the feasibility of printing inorganic materials, the same materials that are used to fabricate high quality semiconductor devices. Cadmium selenide was studied as a model inorganic semiconductor and silicon was studied because of its commercial dominance. The insolubility and high processing temperatures of inorganic semiconductors, both of which can prevent

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Architecture. Program In Media Arts and Sciences.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2003

Author dc:creator

• Ridley, Brent (Brent Alan), 1974-

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Joseph Jacobson.

• Architecture. Program In Media Arts and Sciences.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/62382

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/62382