title: High-Performance Flexible Thin-Film Transistors Based on Single-Crystal-like Silicon Epitaxially Grown on Metal Tape by Roll-to-Roll Continuous Deposition Process.
abstract: Single-crystal-like silicon (Si) thin films on bendable and scalable substrates via direct deposition are a promising material platform for high-performance and cost-effective devices of flexible electronics. However, due to the thick and unintentionally highly doped semiconductor layer, the operation of transistors has been hampered. We report the first demonstration of high-performance flexible thin-film transistors (TFTs) using single-crystal-like Si thin films with a field-effect mobility of ∼200 cm2/V·s and saturation current, I/lW> 50 μA/μm, which are orders-of-magnitude higher than the device characteristics of conventional flexible TFTs. The Si thin films with a (001) plane grown on a metal tape by a "seed and epitaxy" technique show nearly single-crystalline properties characterized by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, reflection high-energy electron diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy. The realization of flexible and high-performance Si TFTs can establish a new pathway for extended applications of flexible electronics such as amplification and digital circuits, more than currently dominant display switches.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, ‡Materials Science and Engineering Program, and §Texas Center for Superconductivity at the University of Houston (TcSUH), University of Houston , 4726 Calhoun Rd., Rm N207, Houston, Texas 77204-4006, United States.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, ‡Materials Science and Engineering Program, and §Texas Center for Superconductivity at the University of Houston (TcSUH), University of Houston , 4726 Calhoun Rd., Rm N207, Houston, Texas 77204-4006, United States.
authors.forename: Mojtaba
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Asadirad
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, ‡Materials Science and Engineering Program, and §Texas Center for Superconductivity at the University of Houston (TcSUH), University of Houston , 4726 Calhoun Rd., Rm N207, Houston, Texas 77204-4006, United States.
authors.forename: Yao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, ‡Materials Science and Engineering Program, and §Texas Center for Superconductivity at the University of Houston (TcSUH), University of Houston , 4726 Calhoun Rd., Rm N207, Houston, Texas 77204-4006, United States.
authors.forename: Pavel
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dutta
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, ‡Materials Science and Engineering Program, and §Texas Center for Superconductivity at the University of Houston (TcSUH), University of Houston , 4726 Calhoun Rd., Rm N207, Houston, Texas 77204-4006, United States.
authors.forename: Eduard
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Galstyan
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, ‡Materials Science and Engineering Program, and §Texas Center for Superconductivity at the University of Houston (TcSUH), University of Houston , 4726 Calhoun Rd., Rm N207, Houston, Texas 77204-4006, United States.
authors.forename: Shahab
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shervin
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, ‡Materials Science and Engineering Program, and §Texas Center for Superconductivity at the University of Houston (TcSUH), University of Houston , 4726 Calhoun Rd., Rm N207, Houston, Texas 77204-4006, United States.
authors.forename: Keon-Hwa
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, ‡Materials Science and Engineering Program, and §Texas Center for Superconductivity at the University of Houston (TcSUH), University of Houston , 4726 Calhoun Rd., Rm N207, Houston, Texas 77204-4006, United States.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pouladi
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, ‡Materials Science and Engineering Program, and §Texas Center for Superconductivity at the University of Houston (TcSUH), University of Houston , 4726 Calhoun Rd., Rm N207, Houston, Texas 77204-4006, United States.
authors.forename: Sicong
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, ‡Materials Science and Engineering Program, and §Texas Center for Superconductivity at the University of Houston (TcSUH), University of Houston , 4726 Calhoun Rd., Rm N207, Houston, Texas 77204-4006, United States.
authors.forename: Yongkuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, ‡Materials Science and Engineering Program, and §Texas Center for Superconductivity at the University of Houston (TcSUH), University of Houston , 4726 Calhoun Rd., Rm N207, Houston, Texas 77204-4006, United States.
authors.forename: Monika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rathi
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, ‡Materials Science and Engineering Program, and §Texas Center for Superconductivity at the University of Houston (TcSUH), University of Houston , 4726 Calhoun Rd., Rm N207, Houston, Texas 77204-4006, United States.
authors.forename: Jae-Hyun
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Ryou
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, ‡Materials Science and Engineering Program, and §Texas Center for Superconductivity at the University of Houston (TcSUH), University of Houston , 4726 Calhoun Rd., Rm N207, Houston, Texas 77204-4006, United States.
authors.forename: Venkat
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Selvamanickam
keywords: epitaxial growth; flexible electronics; roll-to-roll process; single-crystal-like Si; thin-film transistors