Transparent and Flexible Carbon Nanotube Transistors

We report the fabrication of transparent and flexible transistors where both the bottom gate and the conducting channel are carbon nanotube networks of different densities and Parylene N is the gate insulator. Device mobilities of 1 cm2 V-1 s-1 and on/off ratios of 100 are obtained, with the latter influenced by the properties of the insulating layer. Repetitive bending has minor influence on the characteristics, with full recovery after repeated bending. The operation is insensitive to visible light and the gating does not influence the transmission in the visible spectral range. The quest for flexible and transparent transistors has recently resulted in several noteworthy achievements. Transparent transistors have been fabricated using both polymers1-3 and inorganic oxides.4,5 These advances, notable in the emerging technology arena that is generally called “plastic electronics”, have received wide publicity. Both, nevertheless, have significant deficiencies. The former have low mobility and the latter do not have the desired flexibility and are not easily manufacturable. These factors severely limit the applicatio