Stable Logic Operation of Fiber-Based Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Transistor Circuits Toward Thread-Like CMOS Circuitry

• Published in: Materials Vol. 11; no. 10; p. 1878
• Main Authors: Heo, Jae Sang, Kim, Kyung-Tae, Ban, Seok-Gyu, Kim, Yoon-Jeong, Kim, Daesik, Kim, Taehoon, Hong, Yongtaek, Kim, In-Soo, Park, Sung Kyu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI 01.10.2018; MDPI AG
• Subjects: Communication; e-textile; fiber-based electronics; logic circuits; single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs); thin-film-transistors (TFTs); single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs); thin-film-transistors (TFTs); logic circuits; fiber-based electronics; e-textile
• ISSN: 1996-1944; 1996-1944
• DOI: 10.3390/ma11101878

A fiber-based single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) thin-film-transistor (TFT) has been proposed. We designed complementary SWCNT TFT circuit based on SPICE simulations, with device parameters extracted from the fabricated fiber-based SWCNT TFTs, such as threshold voltage, contact resistance, and off-/gate-leakage current. We fabricated the SWCNTs CMOS inverter circuits using the selective passivation and n-doping processes on a fiber substrate. By comparing the simulation and experimental results, we could enhance the circuit's performance by tuning the threshold voltage between p-type and n-type TFTs, reducing the source/drain contact resistance and off current level, and maintaining a low output capacitance of the TFTs. Importantly, it was found that the voltage gain, output swing range, and frequency response of the fiber-based inverter circuits can be dramatically improved.