Seva Sarah, Rorem Benjamin, Chinnathambi Karthik, Estrada David, Guo L Jay, Subbaraman Harish
Electrical and Computer Engineering, Boise State University, 1910 W University Drive, Boise, ID, 83725, USA.
Applied Physics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.
Small Methods. 2024 Oct;8(10):e2301596. doi: 10.1002/smtd.202301596. Epub 2024 Mar 12.
Printed electronics have made remarkable progress in recent years and inkjet printing (IJP) has emerged as one of the leading methods for fabricating printed electronic devices. However, challenges such as nozzle clogging, and strict ink formulation constraints have limited their widespread use. To address this issue, a novel nozzle-free printing technology is explored, which is enabled by laser-generated focused ultrasound, as a potential alternative printing modality called Shock-wave Jet Printing (SJP). Specifically, the performance of SJP-printed and IJP-printed bottom-gated carbon nanotube (CNT) thin film transistors (TFTs) is compared. While IJP required ten print passes to achieve fully functional devices with channel dimensions ranging from tens to hundreds of micrometers, SJP achieved comparable performance with just a single pass. For optimized devices, SJP demonstrated six times higher maximum mobility than IJP-printed devices. Furthermore, the advantages of nozzle-free printing are evident, as SJP successfully printed stored and unsonicated inks, delivering moderate electrical performance, whereas IJP suffered from nozzle clogging due to CNT agglomeration. Moreover, SJP can print significantly longer CNTs, spanning the entire range of tube lengths of commercially available CNT ink. The findings from this study contribute to the advancement of nanomaterial printing, ink formulation, and the development of cost-effective printable electronics.
近年来，印刷电子技术取得了显著进展，喷墨印刷（IJP）已成为制造印刷电子器件的主要方法之一。然而，诸如喷嘴堵塞和严格的油墨配方限制等挑战限制了它们的广泛应用。为了解决这个问题，人们探索了一种新型的无喷嘴印刷技术，该技术由激光产生的聚焦超声驱动，作为一种潜在的替代印刷方式，称为冲击波喷射印刷（SJP）。具体而言，比较了SJP印刷和IJP印刷的底部栅极碳纳米管（CNT）薄膜晶体管（TFT）的性能。虽然IJP需要十次印刷才能实现具有从几十到几百微米通道尺寸的全功能器件，但SJP只需单次印刷就能实现可比的性能。对于优化后的器件，SJP的最大迁移率比IJP印刷的器件高六倍。此外，无喷嘴印刷的优势显而易见，因为SJP成功地印刷了储存且未超声处理的油墨，具有适度的电性能，而IJP则因CNT团聚而遭受喷嘴堵塞。此外，SJP可以印刷长得多的CNT，涵盖了市售CNT油墨的整个管长范围。这项研究的结果有助于纳米材料印刷、油墨配方的进步以及具有成本效益的可印刷电子产品的开发。
