Abstract
A new technique to reduce the influence of metallic carbon nanotubes (CNTs)—relevant for large-scale integrated circuits based on CNT-nanonet transistors—is proposed and verified. Historically, electrical and chemical filtering of the metallic CNTs have been used to improve the ON/OFF ratio of CNT-nanonet transistors; however, the corresponding degradation in ON-current has made these techniques somewhat unsatisfactory. Here, we abandon the classical approaches in favor of a new approach based on relocation of asymmetric percolation threshold of CNT-nanonet transistors by a technique called “striping”; this allows fabrication of transistors with ON/OFF ratio >1000 and ON-current degradation no more than a factor of 2. We offer first principle numerical models, experimental confirmation, and renormalization arguments to provide a broad theoretical and experimental foundation of the proposed method.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Cao, Q.; Kim, H. S.; Pimparkar, N.; Kulkarni, J. P.; Wang, C.; Shim, M.; Roy, K.; Alam, M. A.; Rogers, J. A. Medium-scale carbon nanotube thin-film integrated circuits on flexible plastic substrates. Nature 2008, 454, 495–500.
Duan, X. F.; Niu, C. M.; Sahi, V.; Chen, J.; Parce, J. W.; Empedocles, S.; Goldman, J. L. High-performance thinfilm transistors using semiconductor nanowires and nanoribbons. Nature 2003, 425, 274–278.
Novak, J. P.; Lay, M. D.; Perkins, F. K.; Snow, E. S. Macroelectronic applications of carbon nanotube networks. Solid State Electron. 2004, 48, 1753–1756.
Novak, J. P.; Snow, E. S.; Houser, E. J.; Park, D.; Stepnowski, J. L.; McGill, R. A. Nerve agent detection using networks of single-walled carbon nanotubes. Appl. Phys. Lett. 2003, 83, 4026–4028.
Snow, E. S.; Novak, J. P.; Campbell, P. M.; Park, D. Random networks of carbon nanotubes as an electronic material. Appl. Phys. Lett. 2003, 82, 2145–2147.
Szleifer, I.; Yerushalmi-Rozen, R. Polymers and carbon nanotubes Dimensionality, interactions and nanotechnology. Polymer 2005, 46, 7803–7808.
Zhou, Y. X.; Gaur, A.; Hur, S. H.; Kocabas, C.; Meitl, M. A.; Shim, M.; Rogers, J. A. p-channel, n-channel thin film transistors and p n diodes based on single wall carbon nanotube networks. Nano Lett. 2004, 4, 2031–2035.
Kumar, S.; Murthy, J. Y.; Alam, M. A. Percolating conduction in finite nanotube networks. Phys. Rev. Lett. 2005, 95/6, 066802.
Pimparkar, N.; Guo, J.; Alam, M. A. Performance assessment of sub-percolating nanobundle network transistors by an analytical model. IEDM Tech.Digest 2005, 21, 541–544.
Kang, S. J.; Kocabas, C.; Ozel, T.; Shim, M.; Pimparkar, N.; Alam, M. A.; Rogers, J. A. High-performance electronics using dense, perfectly aligned arrays of single-walled carbon nanotubes. Nat. Nanotechnol. 2007, 2, 230–236.
Cao, Q.; Hur, S. H.; Zhu, Z. T.; Sun, Y.; Wang, C.J.; Meitl, M. A.; Shim, M.; Rogers, J. A. Highly bendable, transparent thin-film transistors that use carbon-nanotube-based conductors and semiconductors with elastomeric dielectrics. Adv. Mater. 2006, 18, 304.
Collins, P. C.; Arnold, M. S.; Avouris, P. Engineering carbon nanotubes and nanotube circuits using electrical breakdown. Science 2001, 292, 706–709.
Kumar, S.; Blanchet, G. B.; Hybertsen, M. S.; Murthy, J. Y.; Alam, M. A. Performance of carbon nanotube-dispersed thin-film transistors. Appl. Phys. Lett. 2006, 89, 143501.
Datta S. Quantum Transport: Atom to Transistor, 2nd ed.; Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 2005.
Stauffer, D.; Aharony, A. Introduction to Percolation Theory; Taylor and Francis: London, 1992.
Haddon, R. C.; Sippel, J.; Rinzler, A. G.; Papadimitrakopoulos, F. Purification and separation of carbon nanotubes. MRS Bull. 2004, 29, 252–259.
Wang, C.; Cao, Q.; Ozel, T.; Gaur, A.; Rogers, J. A.; Shim, M. Electronically selective chemical functionalization of carbon nanotubes: Correlation between Raman spectral and electrical responses. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2005, 127, 11460–11468.
Arnold, M. S.; Stupp, S. I.; Hersam, M. Enrichment of single-walled carbon nanotubes by diameter in density gradients. Nano Lett. 2005, 5, 713–718.
Seidel, R.; Graham, A. P.; Unger, E.; Duesberg, G. S.; Liebau, M.; Steinhoegl, W.; Kreupl, F.; Hoenlein, W. Highcurrent nanotube transistors. Nano Lett. 2004, 4, 831–834.
Pimparkar, N.; Guo, J.; Alam, M. A. Performance assessment of subpercolating nanobundle network thinfilm transistors by an analytical model. IEEE T. Electron Dev. 2007, 54, 637–644.
Li, Y. M.; Mann, D.; Rolandi, M.; Kim, W.; Ural, A.; Hung, S.; Javey, A.; Cao, J.; Wang, D. W.; Yenilmez, E.; Wang, Q.; Gibbons, J. F.; Nishi, Y.; Dai, H. J. Preferential growth of semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes by a plasma enhanced CVD method. Nano Lett. 2004, 4, 317–321.
Pimparkar, N.; Kumar, S.; Cao, Q.; Rogers, J. A.; Murthy, J. Y.; Alam, M. A. Current-voltage characteristics of long-channel nanobundle thin-film transistors: A “bottomup” perspective. IEEE Electron Dev. L. 2007, 28, 157–160
Pimparkar N.; Kocabas C.; Kang S. J.; Rogers J. A.; Alam M. A. Electron Dev. Lett. 2007, 28, 593–595.
Kocabas, C.; Pimparkar, N.; Yesilyurt, O.; Alam, M. A.; Rogers, J. A. Experimental and theoretical studies of transport through large scale, partially aligned arrays of single-walled carbon nanotubes in thin film type transistors. Nano Lett. 2007, 7, 1195–1202.
Seager, C. H.; Pike, G. E. Percolation and conductivity: A computer study. Phys. Rev. B 1974, 10, 1421.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Rights and permissions
Open Access This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0 ), which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.
About this article
Cite this article
Pimparkar, N., Cao, Q., Rogers, J.A. et al. Theory and practice of “Striping” for improved ON/OFF Ratio in carbon nanonet thin film transistors. Nano Res. 2, 167–175 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-009-9013-z
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-009-9013-z