Low-temperature, high-mobility solution-processed p-channel thin-film transistors with semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotube/NiO _x composites

Abstract

In this work, a novel composite material of semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes/nickel oxide (semi-SWCNT/NiOx) is well designed to act as the channel layer in solution-processed p-type thin-film transistors (TFTs). The construction of the semi-SWCNT/NiOx matrix is expected to effectively enhance the mobility of TFTs because the SWCNT can replace the parts of the NiOx system and provide fast tracks for carrier transport. Compared to the mobility of 0.63 cm2 V−1 s−1 in pure NiOx TFT, the 1.0 wt.% SWCNT/NiOx TFT shows an excellent mobility of 3.26 cm2 V−1 s−1 with the SiO2 insulator. Furthermore, the solution-processed ZrO2 dielectric is employed to further enhance the mobility of the SWCNT/NiOx TFT. The mobility of the 1.0 wt.% SWCNT/NiOx TFT based on the ZrO2 dielectric is 6.58 cm2 V−1 s−1, which is nearly ten times that of the pure NiOx TFTs on a SiO2 insulator. The transmission line model (TLM) can further demonstrate that the channel resistance and contact resistance of the device is dramatically reduced with SWCNT incorporated. The results suggest that the SWCNT/NiOx TFTs are promising for the development of low-cost and transparent electronic applications.