Monday, May 13, 2024

Wafer-Scale Transistor Arrays Made Via Slot-Die Printing

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Researchers at Yonsei University and Sungkyunkwan University have developed a solution processing method to fabricate wafer-scale transistor arrays using molybdenum-disulfide.

Photograph of the slot-die machine to coat dielectric and semiconducting layers over 5-inch wafer. Schematic illustration of a semiconducting MoS2 layer and a Na-doped alumina layer as a dielectric. Various logic gates demonstrated including NOR, NOT, SRAM, and NAND. Credit: Kwon et al
Photograph of the slot-die machine to coat dielectric and semiconducting layers over 5-inch wafer. Schematic illustration of a semiconducting MoS2 layer and a Na-doped alumina layer as a dielectric. Various logic gates demonstrated including NOR, NOT, SRAM, and NAND. Credit: Kwon et al

Engineers have been trying to develop more efficient and cost-effective approaches for mass-producing electronic components and devices. In recent studies, researchers have explored the possibilities of creating electronics using solution processing techniques, which involve depositing materials with electrical properties onto a surface from a solution. 

Researchers at Yonsei University and Sungkyunkwan University in South Korea have developed a solution processing method to fabricate wafer-scale transistor arrays using molybdenum-disulfide, an inorganic compound. Previously, the researchers showcased wafer-scale electronics utilizing different solution-processed 2D materials. Expanding on this research, the latest study aimed to optimize electronic properties while ensuring scalability.

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The team employed a commercial slot-die printing process to fabricate their wafer-scale transistors. This method involves depositing liquid materials onto various substrates, including glass, metals, or polymers. The scientists formulated inks comprising nanosheets of molybdenum disulfide and sodium-embedded alumina. Subsequently, they utilized slot-die printing to apply these inks onto a substrate, forming semiconducting and gate dielectric layers. For achieving significant scalability, a slot-die coater, an industrial-level coating method, was employed to uniformly cover solution-processed dielectric and semiconducting channel layers on a 5-inch wafer. The team utilized a distinctive dielectric layer known as sodium-doped alumina to showcase high-performance electronics, enabling the highest field-effect mobility up to 100 cm2/Vs using solution-processed MoS2 thin films.

During the preliminary assessments, the transistors developed by the researchers showcased impressive performance characteristics. They displayed average charge carrier mobilities of 80.0 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹ in field-effect transistor measurements and 132.9 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹ in Hall measurements at room temperature. To further exemplify the capabilities of their transistors, the team utilized them to create various devices, such as NOT, NOR, NAND, and static random-access memory.

The researchers believe that the most significant contribution of this work is introducing a fresh avenue for high-performance, large-scale 2D material-based electronics through an industrial-level coating technique. In future, the researchers aim to focus on broadening the range of solution-processed material candidates, encompassing various electronic properties like electronic type and bandgap. 

Reference: Yonghyun Albert Kwon et al, Wafer-scale transistor arrays fabricated using slot-die printing of molybdenum disulfide and sodium-embedded alumina, Nature Electronics (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41928-023-00971-7

Nidhi Agarwal
Nidhi Agarwal
Nidhi Agarwal is a journalist at EFY. She is an Electronics and Communication Engineer with over five years of academic experience. Her expertise lies in working with development boards and IoT cloud. She enjoys writing as it enables her to share her knowledge and insights related to electronics, with like-minded techies.

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