Abstract
Fully printed electronics on plastic have attracted considerable interest owing to their high compatibility and ease of integration. Here, we developed an ultra-high-resolution printing technique based on “surface selective deposition” that can deposit functional inks with 1-μm resolution on flexible substrates. We used this technique to selectively deposit a metal nanoparticle ink and an organic semiconducting material, thereby allowing the large-scale fabrication of high-resolution electronic circuits including organic thin-film transistors with channels as short as 1 μm under ambient atmosphere. We also developed π-junction gold nanoparticles as the electrode material which permitted room-temperature deposition of a conductive metal layer. The room-temperature process enables printing of electronic circuits without application of heat, thus thermal damage to the substrate can be totally avoided. These results indicate that this bottom-up fabrication method based on fluidic self-assembly is promising for the fabrication of large-area, high-resolution, low-cost electronics.
