Massive Fabrication of Carbon Nanotube Transistors by Surface Tension-Driven Inkjet-Printing Method

Abstract

Carbon nanotube field-effect transistors (CNTFETs) have been ideal nanoelectronics in semiconductor technologies with exceptional electrical properties. Scaling the CNT -FET fabrication enables the expansion of the application fields. However, placing nanotubes with uniform alignment and controlled density to the electrode contacts has been the maj or challenge in massive manufacturing. Here, we introduce the in-place inkjet-printing method for fabricating CNTFETs with controlled numbers of connected CNTs at a single CNT level. A picoliter (pL) drop of CNT ink is printed to the pre-patterned electrode arrays in parallel over a four-inch silicon wafer, allowing adaptive manufacturing without additional lithographic processes. Drops form thin films on the metal electrode patterns driven by the surface tension flow, diluting the surface density of CNT on the one-micrometer channel gap and avoiding bundled coffee ring edges. Finally, single CNTs are correctly bridged to the electrodes with high statistical yield. This process enables reproducible and high-throughput single CNT deposition, integrating into the FET manufacturing process, and can be used for versatile nanoelectronics applications, such as biosensors. © 2023 IEEE.