Nanoparticles from the printer

Printed components are applied whenever large-area electronic components are required: Applications of printed electronics range from touch sensors to solar cells to diodes, storage systems, and displays to antennas and batteries.

State of the art

Printed electronics are produced by standard printing methods, such as inkjet printing or roll-to-roll printing. Instead of the printing inks, mostly organic electronic functional materials are applied. Organic materials, however, have certain drawbacks: The electronic performance data are weak and stabilities insufficient.

Technology

To overcome these limits, scientists from the KIT Institute of Nanotechnology (INT) study new concepts for transistor gating. They develop new materials and electronic components and determine their functionality and stability. For the new printing process, inorganic nanomaterials, in particular semiconducting oxides, are applied. Oxides have very good electronic properties and can be produced in the printing mode. For their research, the KIT scientists use a field effect transistor (FET) as electronic component. FETs have three electrodes: The source of the charge carriers, the drain electrode, and the gate or control electrode. A layer of nanoparticles is included in the KIT setup. An electrolyte is fed into the porous particle network and disperses into all pores. The resistance and, hence, the current of the drain-source section are controlled by the voltage between gate and source and the resulting electric field.

Advantages

Printed electronics of nanocrystalline functional particles have a high theoretical mobility of charge carriers and stability of materials.

Options for companies

KIT is looking for partners for industrial use.