Technische Universität Chemnitz (TUC), Digital Printing and Imaging Technology, 09126 Chemnitz, Germany.
Institut de Microelectrònica de Barcelona, IMB-CNM (CSIC), 08193 Bellaterra, Spain.
Sci Rep. 2016 Sep 21;6:33490. doi: 10.1038/srep33490.
We report on the detailed electrical investigation of all-inkjet-printed thin-film transistor (TFT) arrays focusing on TFT failures and their origins. The TFT arrays were manufactured on flexible polymer substrates in ambient condition without the need for cleanroom environment or inert atmosphere and at a maximum temperature of 150 °C. Alternative manufacturing processes for electronic devices such as inkjet printing suffer from lower accuracy compared to traditional microelectronic manufacturing methods. Furthermore, usually printing methods do not allow the manufacturing of electronic devices with high yield (high number of functional devices). In general, the manufacturing yield is much lower compared to the established conventional manufacturing methods based on lithography. Thus, the focus of this contribution is set on a comprehensive analysis of defective TFTs printed by inkjet technology. Based on root cause analysis, we present the defects by developing failure categories and discuss the reasons for the defects. This procedure identifies failure origins and allows the optimization of the manufacturing resulting finally to a yield improvement.
我们报告了全喷墨打印薄膜晶体管 (TFT) 阵列的详细电气研究，重点是 TFT 故障及其根源。TFT 阵列在柔性聚合物衬底上制造，在环境条件下进行，无需洁净室环境或惰性气氛，最高温度为 150°C。与传统微电子制造方法相比，喷墨打印等电子设备的替代制造工艺的精度较低。此外，通常的打印方法不允许制造具有高产量（大量功能器件）的电子设备。一般来说，与基于光刻的传统制造方法相比，制造产量要低得多。因此，本研究的重点是对喷墨技术打印的有缺陷 TFT 进行全面分析。基于根本原因分析，我们通过开发故障类别来呈现缺陷，并讨论缺陷的原因。该过程确定了故障的起源，并允许优化制造过程，最终提高产量。
