MRSEC Seminar

New Materials for Printed Polymer Electronics

C. Daniel Frisbie

Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science
University of Minnesota

Thursday, February 19, 11:00 am

Cook Hall 2058

The next wave in the microelectronics revolution may be the incorporation of flexible circuitry and displays onto the surfaces of many common items including magazines, books, gift cards, bandages, games, maps, or clothing. An important strategy for realizing flexible electronics is to employ solution-processable materials that can be directly printed and integrated into high performance electronic components on plastic or paper. Functional inks based on metallic, semiconducting and insulating materials have been developed, but enhanced printability and performance is still a challenge. There is a particular need for printable, high capacitance dielectrics that can serve as gate insulators in organic thin film transistors (OTFTs). High capacitance gate insulators result in lower OTFT operating voltages, which is especially desirable for flexible circuitry that will be powered by thin film batteries or external AC fields. In this talk, I will demonstrate that an emerging class of polymer electrolytes known as ion gels can serve as printable, high-capacitance gate insulators in OTFTs. The specific capacitance exceeds that of conventional ceramic or polymeric gate dielectrics, and facilitates low voltage operation of polymer transistors and circuits operating at kHz switching frequencies.

Host: Professor Lincoln Lauhon, MSE