NIRT: Printed Semiconducting Carbon Nanotube Arrays for High Performance Flexible Plastic Electronic Systems

本研究的目的是发展对半导体单壁碳纳米管（SWNTs）中电荷传输方面的基本理解，净化和操纵这些管的方法，以及将它们用于新型机械柔性晶体管的方法，该晶体管将大规模并联的SWNTs阵列（swnt阵列）作为高迁移率的半导体层。这一跨学科的科学努力涉及管的化学和材料科学及其功能化方法，它们的分离/图像化的化学工程，通过它们的电荷传输的物理学和swnt阵列晶体管的电气工程方面。该方法包括结合使用高分辨率光谱方法、扫描探针显微镜、设备制造的不寻常方法、管功能化的化学技术以及模拟设备响应的计算工具。从这项研究中产生的科学有可能产生柔性“塑料”电路技术，其性能可与先进的单晶硅器件相媲美或更好。这些新方法将使重要的系统类别——可穿戴计算机、高分辨率柔性发射显示器等——成为可能，而这些是传统无机电子产品难以或不可能实现的。该团队包括杜邦公司作为研究合作者，并作为商业化这些系统的潜在途径。该计划的跨学科科学和技术组成部分，特别是与工业界的密切合作相结合，提供了优秀的教育，人力资源和推广机会。来自不同背景的高中教师、本科生和研究生都将在学术和工业场所参与研究。

The objective of this research is to develop a basic understanding of aspects of charge transport in semiconducting single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs), methods for purifying and manipulating these tubes, and means for using them in a new type of mechanically flexible transistor that incorporates massively parallel arrays of SWNTs (SWNT-arrays) as high mobility semiconductor layers. This interdisciplinary scientific effort involves the chemistry and materials science of the tubes and means to functionalize them, chemical engineering of their separation/patterning, physics of charge transport through them and electrical engineering aspects of the SWNT-array transistors. The approach includes the combined use of high resolution spectroscopic methods, scanning probe microscopies, unusual methods for device fabrication, chemical techniques for tube functionalization, and computational tools to simulate device response. The science that will emerge from this research has the potential to yield technologies for flexible 'plastic' circuits that offer performance comparable to or better than advanced single crystal silicon devices. These new approaches will enable important classes of systems -- wearable computers, high resolution flexible emissive displays, etc. -- that would be difficult or impossible to achieve with conventional inorganic electronics. The team includes DuPont as a research collaborator, and as a potential path to commercializing these systems. The interdisciplinary science and technology components of the program, especially when combined with the close collaborations with industry, provide excellent educational, human resource and outreach opportunities. High school teachers, undergraduates and graduate students from diverse backgrounds will all participate in the research, both at the academic and industrial locations.