School of Electrical and Computer Engineering , Georgia Institute of Technology , Atlanta , Georgia 30332 , United States.
Singh Center for Nanotechnology & Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering , University of Pennsylvania , Philadelphia , Pennsylvania 19104 , United States.
ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2018 Oct 31;10(43):37643-37650. doi: 10.1021/acsami.8b12005. Epub 2018 Oct 17.
We introduce solution-based, room temperature- and atmospheric pressure-processed silver nanocrystal (Ag NC)-based electrical circuits and interconnects for radio frequency (RF)/microwave frequency applications. We chemically designed the surface and interface states of Ag NC thin films to achieve high stability, dc and ac conductivity, and minimized RF loss through stepwise ligand exchange, shell coating, and surface cleaning. The chemical and structural properties of the circuits and interconnects affect the high-frequency electrical performance of Ag NC thin films, as confirmed by high-frequency electromagnetic field simulations. An all solution-based process is developed to build coplanar structures, in which Ag NC thin films are positioned at both sides of the substrates. In addition, we fabricated flexible transmission lines and broadband electrical circuits for resistors, interdigitated capacitors, spiral and omega-shaped inductors, and patch antennas with maximum inductance and capacitance values of 3 nH and 2.5 pF at frequencies up to 20 GHz. We believe that our approach will lead to a cost-effective realization of RF circuits and devices in which sensing and wireless communication capabilities are combined for internet-of-things applications.
我们介绍了基于溶液的、在室温及常压下处理的银纳米晶（Ag NC）基电路和互连线，用于射频（RF）/微波频率应用。我们通过逐步配体交换、壳层涂覆和表面清洁，对 Ag NC 薄膜的表面和界面状态进行了化学设计，以实现高稳定性、直流和交流导电性，以及最小化 RF 损耗。电路和互连线的化学和结构特性通过高频电磁场模拟得到了证实，会影响 Ag NC 薄膜的高频电性能。我们开发了一种全溶液工艺来构建共面结构，其中 Ag NC 薄膜位于基底的两侧。此外，我们还制造了灵活的传输线和宽带电路，用于电阻器、叉指电容器、螺旋和ω形电感器以及贴片天线，它们在高达 20 GHz 的频率下具有最大电感和电容值，分别为 3 nH 和 2.5 pF。我们相信，我们的方法将为实现具有成本效益的 RF 电路和器件铺平道路，这些电路和器件将结合传感和无线通信功能，用于物联网应用。
