Ultraflexible amorphous silicon transistors made with a resilient insulator

Abstract

The conventional, brittle, silicon nitride barrier layer and gate insulator in amorphous silicon thin-film transistors (a-Si:H TFTs) on 50 μm thick polyimide foil was replaced by a resilient, homogeneous, hybrid of silicon dioxide and silicone polymer. The transistor structures can be bent down to 0.5 mm radius (5% strain) in tension and down to 1 mm radius (2.5% strain) in compression. This pronounced flexibility shifts the criterion for reversible bending away from a-Si:H TFT backplanes and toward the materials for substrate and encapsulation. It qualifies a-Si:H TFTs for pull-out display screens in handheld devices.