Nanowire-based flexible electronics for functionally enhanced large-area systems

该计划的目标是开发和结合新的和传统的加工技术和材料，为柔性大面积电子产品创造功能增强的设备。该方案包括基于纳米线/薄膜混合器件的新结构的设计和制造，实施用于纳米线组装的新的溶液处理技术，利用脉冲激光处理来提高器件的集成度和性能，以及展示集成系统的原型。 主要的研究领域将是：1)利用化学气相沉积(CVD)和等离子体增强CVD技术在塑料衬底上低温生长纳米线和原位制造混合纳米线/薄膜器件结构的硅纳米线(SiNW)，2)开发悬浮在液体中的SiNW用于基于溶液的加工3)使用喷射打印工艺的SiNW器件的无掩膜非接触图案化、组装和测试，4)通过脉冲激光加工设计和制造用于电接触和结的新型掺杂轮廓，以及5)设计、制造、以及测试基于SiNW的太阳能电池和电池，使用塑料上的混合非晶硅/SiNW器件结构。 这项研究的结果将导致功能增强的大面积电子系统，这些系统将对显示器和医学成像行业产生影响，并对电子阅读器和电子纸的新兴应用产生长期影响。每个研究组件还可以用于各种应用，从而使技术能够轻松传播到行业。这些技术领域将在纳米技术领域对华盛顿大学的学生进行教育和培训，为他们引领下一代大面积柔性纳米电子的发展做好准备。

The goal of this program is to develop and combine novel and conventional processing techniques and materials to create functionally enhanced devices for flexible large-area electronics. The proposal consists of the design and fabrication of new structures based on hybrid nanowire/thin-film devices, implementing novel solution processing techniques for nanowire assembly, enhancing device integration and performance using pulsed-laser processing, and demonstrating a prototype integrated system. The major areas of research will be: 1) silicon nanwire (SiNW) synthesis using chemical-vapor deposition (CVD) and plasma-enhanced CVD techniques for low-temperature nanowire growth on plastic substrates and in-situ fabrication of hybrid nanowire/thin-film device structures, 2) development of SiNWs suspended in liquid for solution-based processing 3) maskless non-contact patterning, assembly, and testing of SiNW devices using jet-printing processes, 4) design and fabrication of novel doping profiles for electrical contacts and junctions by pulsed-laser processing, and 5) design, fabrication, and testing of SiNW-based solar cells and batteries using hybrid amorphous Si/SiNW device structures on plastic. The outcome of this research will result in functionally enhanced large-area electronic systems that will impact the display and medical imaging industry with long-term influence on emerging applications for e-readers and e-paper. Each of the research components can also be used for a variety of applications, permitting easy dissemination of technology to industry. The range of technical areas will educate and train UW students in the field of nanotechnology, preparing them to lead the development of the next generation of large-area flexible nanoelectronics.