New Electronics, Microprocessors inventions in 2011

New Transistor for Plastic Electronics

Researchers in Georgia Institute of Technology reached a new method of combining top-gate organic field-effect transistors with a bilayer gate insulator. This allows the transistor to perform with incredible stability while exhibiting good current performance. In addition, the transistor can be mass produced in a regular atmosphere and can be created using lower temperatures, making it compatible with the plastic devices it will power.

The research team used an existing semiconductor and changed the gate dielectric because transistor performance depends not only on the semiconductor itself, but also on the interface between the semiconductor and the gate dielectric.

The bilayer dielectric is made of a fluorinated polymer known as CYTOP and a high-k metal-oxide layer created by atomic layer deposition. Used alone, each substance has its benefits and its drawbacks.

Flexible Organic Microprocessor

European researchers recently announced the development of the world’s first flexible organic microprocessor at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference in San Francisco CA.

The flexible microprocessor was developed by polymer and molecular electronics researchers at Imec (a Belgian nanotech research center).

When it comes to structure, silicon often beats out organic alternatives because the monocrystalline structure allows for more consistent behavior.

In order to turn the current on for one of these transistors, you need to turn up the gate’s voltage to a known threshold. By adding an extra gate to the back of each organic transistor Genoe’s team was able to better control the electric field in the semiconductor, therefore eliminating the unpredictable performance.