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a-Si:H Thin Film Transistors on Rollable 25-μM Thick Steel Foil

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Abstract

We report the first amorphous silicon thin film transistors (TFTs) on flexible, ultra-thin substrates of 25 fum thick stainless steel foil. The transistors remain operational under convex or concave bending down to 2.5 mm radius of curvature. Taking advantage of the flexibility and resiliency of these devices, we have successfully fabricated TFTs using only xerographic toner masks printed directly on to the steel substrate and using mechanical alignment in the laser printer to obtain the necessary overlay accuracy. The goal of our work is to develop a foldable active-matrix transistor backplane, at low cost and high throughput, for use in highly rugged and portable applications such as foldable intelligent maps. Our results suggest that such foldable backplane circuits are feasible.

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References

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Acknowledgement

We thank Dr. Xudong Jiang for information on thin foil mechanics. This research is supported by DARPA under Air Force grant number F33615-94-1-1464 (managed by WPAFB), by Opticom, and by EPRI.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electrical Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 08544, USA

    E. Y. Ma & S. Wagner

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  1. E. Y. Ma
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  2. S. Wagner
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Ma, E.Y., Wagner, S. a-Si:H Thin Film Transistors on Rollable 25-μM Thick Steel Foil. MRS Online Proceedings Library 507, 13–18 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1557/PROC-507-13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/PROC-507-13

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