Disordered semiconductors on mechanically flexible substrates for large-area electronics

Abstract

Low-temperature-thin-film semiconductors thin filmsemiconductor and dielectrics are critical for large-area flexible electronics, including displays, smart skins and imagers. Despite the presence of structural disorder, these materials show promising electronic transport properties that are vital for devices such as thin filmtransistor (TFT) thin-film transistors (TFTthin filmtransistor (TFT)large area electronicflexible substrateamorphoussemiconducting films) and sensors. This chapter presents an overview of material and transport properties pertinent to large-area electronics on mechanically flexible substrates. We begin with a summary of process challenges for low-temperature fabrication of a-Si:H TFTs on plastic substrates, followed by a description of transport properties of amorphous semiconducting films, along with their influence on TFT characteristics. The TFTs must maintain electrical integrity under mechanical stress induced by bending of the substrates. Bending-induced changes are not limited to alteration of device dimensions and involve modulation of electronic transport of the active semiconducting layer.