A mixture of polymeric semiconductor with insulating polymer, the material will be used to build a next-generation of portable and human body-attachable devices that will come with new form factors and features.
Unlike other semiconductor materials available now, what makes it so unique is that it is not only flexible, but also transparent.
Metallic oxide and carbon materials as well as silicon are widely used today as semiconductor material, but do not have both characteristics at once.
Polymeric organic materials are highly flexible, but are not transparent, due to their characteristics that absorbs light.
Making the chip transparent is available with thin films, but then, electro mobility is often compromised.
To tackle these technology challenges, GIST has added and mixed polymeric polystyrene with polymeric semiconductor or DPP2T to create an insulator.
DPP2T forms thin mesh-like structure within transparent interior of polystyrene.
It results in improving the light transparency as high as 100% clear, as this material has a structure that fills large holes with minimal passageways.
Object that is placed on the other side of film can be seen crystal-clear without any color distortion.
What is more interesting is that the performance of mixed mesh-like semiconductor outsmarts the original pure thin-film DPP2T.
Mobility of charges is improved by almost 4 times. The charges move effectively along polymeric chain that is created by mesh-like structure.
Yet, actual area, where charges can move, is only 15% of total area.
Meanwhile, it is so simple to fabricate, guaranteeing easy mass-production set-up.
The institute explained that the chips can be mass-produced easier and faster by utilizing solution process that imprints the materials by mixing each material into a solvent.
“We stand at an strategic inflection point for breaking through the limits of organic electronic materials to make come true what everyone has dreamt of, as we have created a new technology paradigm that can help develop a new breed of semiconductor chips,” said professor Lee Kwang-hee of GIST. “