A novel thin-film transistor using carbon nanotubes as both channel and electrodes

A novel structure of carbon nanotube thin-film transistors (CNT-TFTs) with carbon nanotubes as source and drain electrodes has been proposed and realized. Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) with 95% semiconducting purity work as the channel layer while semiconducting-metallic-mixed SWNTs with 33% semiconducting purity work as the source and drain electrodes. Transconductance of 5.52×10
^-7
S and on/off current ratio of 10
⁵
have been obtained for the devices. The electrical performance is comparable to that of the CNT-TFTs with Titanium electrodes. By using CNTs as the electrode, the CNT-TFTs are closer to future flexible and transparent applications by one more step. Besides, the fabrication process of the devices is facile and low-cost.