Investigation of using contact and non-contact printing technologies for organic transistor fabrication

Low cost, high volume manufacturing processes are envisioned for solution processable organic semiconductor integrated circuits (IC) fabrication. The organic IC may be the low cost solution for driving electronic devices, i.e. smart cards, RFID tags, flexible displays, personal area networks, and body area networks. This study investigated the manufacturability of organic electronics (organic field effect transistors (OFETs), organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), etc.) using commercially available printing technologies and materials systems qualified for use in microelectronic products. The evaluated contact printing technologies were pad printing and screen-printing; the non-contact printing technologies were ink jetting and micro dispensing. The material system selection for transistor structures and active layers was based on printing technology requirements and I availability. The materials were polymer thick film conductors and insulators, conductive nano-particle commercia suspensions, and organic polymer systems. A series of material property characterization and printing process development-studies were conducted. Several OFET designs were created and functional all printed organic transistors were demonstrated. The device electrical performance was characterized.