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Rugged a-Si:H TFTs on Plastic Substrates

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 February 2011

H. Gleskovas
Affiliation:
Princeton University, Department of Electrical Engineering, and Aerospace Engineering and Princeton Materials Institute, Princeton, NJ 08544
S. Wagner
Affiliation:
Princeton University, Department of Electrical Engineering, and Aerospace Engineering and Princeton Materials Institute, Princeton, NJ 08544
Z. Suo
Affiliation:
Princeton University, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Princeton Materials Institute, Princeton, NJ 08544
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Abstract

Much of the mechanical strain in semiconductor devices can be relieved when they are made on compliant substrates. We demonstrate this strain relief with amorphous silicon thin-film transistors (a-Si:H TFTs) made on 25-μm thick polyimide foil, which can be bent to radii of curvature R down to 0.5 mm without substantial change in electrical characteristics. At R= 0.5 mm the channel area of the TFTs is strained by ~ 1%. The reduction in bending radius, from R ≠ 2 mm on steel foil of the same thickness, agrees with the theoretical prediction that changing from a stiff to a compliant substrate can reduce the bending strain in the device plane by a factor of up to 5.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1999

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