Substrate-Free Transfer of Large-Area Ultra-Thin Electronics

Abstract

Innovation in materials and technologies has promoted the fabrication of thin-film electronics on substrates previously considered incompatible because of their chemical or mechanical properties. Indeed, conventional fabrication processes, typically based on photolithography, involve solvents and acids that might harm fragile or exotic substrates. In this context, transfer techniques define a route to overcome the issues related to the nature of the substrate by using supportive carriers in the electronics stack that mitigate or avoid any damages during the fabrication process. Here, a substrate-free approach is presented for the transfer of ultra-thin electronics (<150nm-thick) where no additional layer besides the electronics one remains on the final substrate. Devices are transferred on several surfaces showing good adhesion and an average performance variation of 27%. Furthermore, a sensor bent to a radius of 15.25µm, shows variation in performance of 5%. The technique can also be sequentially repeated for the fabrication of stacked electronics, enabling the development of ultra-thin devices, compliant on unconventional surfaces.