Scientists
at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have developed a super flexible,
composite semiconductor material that can have possible applications in
next-generation flexible or curved displays, foldable phones and wearable
electronics. Traditional semiconductor devices -- such as transistors that are
used in display industries -- are either made of amorphous silicon or amorphous
oxides, both of which are not flexible and strain tolerant at all. Adding
polymers to the oxide semiconductors may increase their flexibility, but there
is a limit to how much can be added without compromising the semiconductor's
performance, the IISc noted. In the current study, published in journal
'Advanced Materials Technologies', the researchers of the premier institute's
department of materials engineering have found a way to fabricate a composite
containing a significant amount of polymer – up to 40 per cent of the material
weight – using a solution-process technique, specifically inkjet printing. In
contrast, previous studies have reported only up to one to two per cent polymer
addition.
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