Complementary organic thin film transistor circuits fabricated directly on silicone substrates

The present work demonstrates organic circuits on a new class of substrate, silicone elastomers. The fabrication method relies on dry, additive processes performed at ultra-low substrate temperature (<100 °C). P-type pentacene and n-type C60 organic thin-film transistors (TFTs) in a bottom gate, top contact architecture are prepared directly on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) membranes without any surface pre-treatment. Simple logic elements including complementary inverters and ambipolar transistors patterned on PDMS perform similarly to their counterparts fabricated on substrates thousands times stiffer. The processing options and mechanical compliance of the elastomeric substrate combined with organic device materials open new opportunities for compliant, lightweight, low-power and large area thin-film circuitry.