Fundamental Performance Limits of Carbon Nanotube Thin-Film Transistors Achieved Using Hybrid Molecular Dielectrics

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that integrating high-purity semiconducting carbon nanotube films with a hybrid inorganic-organic gate dielectric significantly enhances transistor performance metrics, enabling practical applications in flexible electronics.

Contribution

The study introduces a novel integration of carbon nanotube films with a custom hybrid dielectric, overcoming traditional trade-offs and achieving superior transistor performance.

Findings

Achieved high transconductance of 6.5 μS/μm

Realized intrinsic field-effect mobility of 147 cm²/Vs

Demonstrated hysteresis-free operation in ambient conditions

Abstract

In the past decade, semiconducting carbon nanotube thin films have been recognized as contending materials for wide-ranging applications in electronics, energy, and sensing. In particular, improvements in large-area flexible electronics have been achieved through independent advances in post-growth processing to resolve metallic versus semiconducting carbon nanotube heterogeneity, in improved gate dielectrics, and in self-assembly processes. Moreover, controlled tuning of specific device components has afforded fundamental probes of the trade-offs between materials properties and device performance metrics. Nevertheless, carbon nanotube transistor performance suitable for real-world applications awaits understanding-based progress in the integration of independently pioneered device components. We achieve this here by integrating high-purity semiconducting carbon nanotube films with a custom-designed hybrid inorganic-organic gate dielectric. This synergistic combination of materials circumvents conventional design trade-offs, resulting in concurrent advances in several transistor performance metrics such as transconductance (6.5 {\mu}S/{\mu}m), intrinsic field-effect mobility (147 cm^2/Vs), sub-threshold swing (150 mV/decade), and on/off ratio (5 x 10^5), while also achieving hysteresis-free operation in ambient conditions.