As the size of semiconductor devices approaches several fundamental and practical limits, nanostructures such as one-dimensional nanowires or carbon nanotubes will likely be employed in future electronics to sustain the device scaling. To date, great effort and progress have been made on nanowire-based electronic, optical and bio-sensor devices at the single-device level. Recently our group has carried out studies on thin-film transistors (TFTs) based on single-crystalline nanowires that may pave the way of large-scale application of nanowire devices. Such nanowire TFTs offer much higher mobility compared to conventional amorphous-silicon or organic TFT devices, and are compatible with flexible substrates such as plastics that can be used in flexible electronics (eg. wearable electronics and electronic paper). The objective of this project is to help develop large scale nanowire-based transparent electronics on flexible plastics substrates. These “invisible” devices may be used in displays and will likely stimulate other novel applications. Student

 

Tasks and Responsibilities: The student will help develop the techniques to assembly large quantities of nanowires into the thin-film form.