Electronic Devices on Plastic Substrates
New applications, such as large area conformal displays, conformal electronic devices for biological applications, driver circuits for organic LED’s etc. require that high quality electronic devices be made on insulating substrates, sometimes even on plastic substrates. MRC scientists and students have developed several new technologies for depositing both amorphous and crystalline Si devices on plastic substrates. Using a rective ECR plasma beam process, we have been able to deposit thin films of crystalline Si directly on a plastic substrate without having to do any laser recrystallization. Recently, we produced a crystalline Si solar cell on polyimide substrates with very good properties. This development is likely to revolutionize semiconductor technology by allowing for multiple-device integration on insulating layers.
In addition to crystalline Si films on plastic substrates, we have made thin film transistors(TFT) in amorphous Si on polyimide substrates. Using these TFT devices, we have been able to make memory devices, such as EEPROM , on polyimide.
An active area of research in this field is the research on appropriate gate insulators deposited at low temperatures. Several novel approaches such as reactive ECR plasma oxidation are being tried to improve the quality and stability of the gate oxides.
Faculty
Vikram Dalal
Staff
Ruth Shinar, Max Noack, Keqin Han
Students
Dan Stieler, Durga Panda
Papers
Funding Agencies