title: Aerosol jet printed p- and n-type electrolyte-gated transistors with a variety of electrode materials: exploring practical routes to printed electronics.
abstract: Printing electrically functional liquid inks is a promising approach for achieving low-cost, large-area, additive manufacturing of flexible electronic circuits. To print thin-film transistors, a basic building block of thin-film electronics, it is important to have several options for printable electrode materials that exhibit high conductivity, high stability, and low-cost. Here we report completely aerosol jet printed (AJP) p- and n-type electrolyte-gated transistors (EGTs) using a variety of different electrode materials including highly conductive metal nanoparticles (Ag), conducting polymers (polystyrenesulfonate doped poly(3,4-ethylendedioxythiophene, PEDOT:PSS), transparent conducting oxides (indium tin oxide), and carbon-based materials (reduced graphene oxide). Using these source-drain electrode materials and a PEDOT:PSS/ion gel gate stack, we demonstrated all-printed p- and n-type EGTs in combination with poly(3-hexythiophene) and ZnO semiconductors. All transistor components (including electrodes, semiconductors, and gate insulators) were printed by AJP. Both kinds of devices showed typical p- and n-type transistor characteristics, and exhibited both low-threshold voltages (<2 V) and high hole and electron mobilities. Our assessment suggests Ag electrodes may be the best option in terms of overall performance for both types of EGTs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering & Materials Science, University of Minnesota , 421 Washington Avenue SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States.
authors.forename: Kihyon
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.forename: Se Hyun
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Ankit
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mahajan
authors.forename: C Daniel
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Frisbie
keywords: aerosol jet printing; electrode materials; electrolyte-gated transistors; ion-gel gate insulator