Large-area electronics based on two-dimensional atomically thin materials
Lead Research Organisation:
Imperial College London
Department Name: Materials
Abstract
Novel forefront technological products such as, paper like displays, stretchable sensor skin, electronic textiles, and robotic sensors require high speed processing on unconventional form factor substrates, which can be bendable, flexible, stretchable and that they can assume different geometries. Therefore, field effect transistors with performances on a par with the wafer-based conventional electronics and at the same time flexible, compatible with sensitive substrates (plastic/rubber) are required. As the performance figures of FETs are intrinsically related to the ultimate electronic properties of the channel material and its interfaces, the need is to have materials responsive to all aforementioned demands.
At present, large area electronics on plastic and unusual format electronics use low performing materials such as organic conductors or metal oxide or alternatively newly emerging Si-like materials shaped into thin membranes, which are fabricated by multi step process exploiting the existing industry infrastructure with the related high costs. Graphene has been identified as a suitable electronic material for all kind of electronic technologies, owing to its mechanical, electrical, optical, chemical properties. Although graphene is the ideal material as a transparent electrode, it does not have a band gap hindering its use as a channel material. Here I propose studying a new range of 2D atomically thin materials, which share optical and mechanical properties of graphene, but in addition they are semiconducting with a band gap (1.1-1.9 eV).
Moreover, their high carrier mobility, uniquely distinguishes them from graphene as channel material for development of heterogeneous electronics. These materials are practically appealing as they offer realistic pathways to manufacture devices due to their 2 dimensional geometry facilitating integration, they do not have dangling bonds on the basal plane, allowing manipulation as individual particles in solution and they have unique mechanical features, with effects related to shape distortions and folding. Simultaneously, they present quantum and other size-dependent effects leading to a wealth of electronic, phonon dynamics and optical properties, not found in zero- and one-dimensional materials, offering opportunities to extend the frontiers of their applications to spintronics, photovoltaic, catalysis etc. The main objective is to demonstrate low-voltage n/p-type FETs operating in logic inverters, which are the elemental units of logic electronics.
Toward this end, the aim is to develop novel solution phase processing necessary to isolate monolayer flakes with preserved atomic and electronic structure, from their 3D counterpart and create stable inks of these platelets. These inks will be then exploited to establish a reliable array of scalable deterministic assembly techniques of the flakes onto any substrates in the form of highly uniform ultrathin films over large areas. These materials will be interfaced with the atomically thin organic dielectrics, which secure low-power operation. In addition both, 2D membranes as well as the organic components are transparent in the optical range due to their ultimately thin thickness leading to semitransparent devices.
The solution based processing at room temperature will ensure low cost manufacturing and compatibility with any plastic/rubber substrates, and reduction of energy employed for fabrication addressing also worldwide need for energy saving. The raw materials cost is also competitive in comparison with the existing materials for electronics. Overall the proposed research can lead to new economic benefits, extend the frontiers of the present electronic technology, and open new scenarios in fundamental science in respect to new quantum and other size-phenomena.
At present, large area electronics on plastic and unusual format electronics use low performing materials such as organic conductors or metal oxide or alternatively newly emerging Si-like materials shaped into thin membranes, which are fabricated by multi step process exploiting the existing industry infrastructure with the related high costs. Graphene has been identified as a suitable electronic material for all kind of electronic technologies, owing to its mechanical, electrical, optical, chemical properties. Although graphene is the ideal material as a transparent electrode, it does not have a band gap hindering its use as a channel material. Here I propose studying a new range of 2D atomically thin materials, which share optical and mechanical properties of graphene, but in addition they are semiconducting with a band gap (1.1-1.9 eV).
Moreover, their high carrier mobility, uniquely distinguishes them from graphene as channel material for development of heterogeneous electronics. These materials are practically appealing as they offer realistic pathways to manufacture devices due to their 2 dimensional geometry facilitating integration, they do not have dangling bonds on the basal plane, allowing manipulation as individual particles in solution and they have unique mechanical features, with effects related to shape distortions and folding. Simultaneously, they present quantum and other size-dependent effects leading to a wealth of electronic, phonon dynamics and optical properties, not found in zero- and one-dimensional materials, offering opportunities to extend the frontiers of their applications to spintronics, photovoltaic, catalysis etc. The main objective is to demonstrate low-voltage n/p-type FETs operating in logic inverters, which are the elemental units of logic electronics.
Toward this end, the aim is to develop novel solution phase processing necessary to isolate monolayer flakes with preserved atomic and electronic structure, from their 3D counterpart and create stable inks of these platelets. These inks will be then exploited to establish a reliable array of scalable deterministic assembly techniques of the flakes onto any substrates in the form of highly uniform ultrathin films over large areas. These materials will be interfaced with the atomically thin organic dielectrics, which secure low-power operation. In addition both, 2D membranes as well as the organic components are transparent in the optical range due to their ultimately thin thickness leading to semitransparent devices.
The solution based processing at room temperature will ensure low cost manufacturing and compatibility with any plastic/rubber substrates, and reduction of energy employed for fabrication addressing also worldwide need for energy saving. The raw materials cost is also competitive in comparison with the existing materials for electronics. Overall the proposed research can lead to new economic benefits, extend the frontiers of the present electronic technology, and open new scenarios in fundamental science in respect to new quantum and other size-phenomena.
Planned Impact
A vision for future electronics is to develop methods and materials that can enable high-performance circuits to be fabricated on unconventional substrates and geometries for paperlike displays, curvilinear electronics, electronic textile, stretchable solar cells, and biointegrated sensors. These technologies can have a huge impact in the society, revolutionising human-electronics interfaces and medical diagnostics. The vision is to overcome the commonly referred to as large-area electronics that traditionally presents lower performance figure than Silicon technology, to reach a wafer-like technology on flexible/stretchable substrates. The potential societal impact of the emerging Plastic Electronics and Conformal Electronics is enormous as reflected by predictions [IDTechEx (www.idtechex.com)] of growth for the global market from current $5bn in 2012 to over $300bn by 2027. However, at present there are no straightforward methodologies to produce materials with electrical characteristics comparable to silicon and that are also mechanically flexible/stretchable, inexpensive and, processable on polymeric substrates at temperature below 100 C. Here, I aim to develop foundational work on a new two-dimensional (2D) atomic materials system (WSe2, WS2, MoS2) which retains the facile solution processing commonly associated with organic electronics and concurrently presents Si-like electrical properties and mechanical flexibility, for use in large-area electronics on unconventional substrates/geometries. These materials are 2D atomically thin layers and share many properties with graphene, such as: high thermal stability, chemical inertness, transparency, mechanical flexibility high surface area, high carrier mobility, controllable doping. However, there is a key difference that underlies the novelty in this work and which is of critical importance; they are semiconductors with a band gap (1.1-1.9 eV).
This additional attribute will be exploited for the manufacturing of environmentally stable channel materials for field effect transistors (FET). Colloidal chemistry necessary to produce high yield of monolayer in solution with high structural and electrical quality to implement room temperature scalable deterministic deposition techniques onto flexible/stretchable substrates for integration in FETs will be developed. By the end of the project this technology will be implemented in prototype n/p-channel FET and logic inverters on flexible/stretchable substrates will be demonstrated. UK companies, many of which are already at the leading edge of plastic electronics, will benefit from opportunities to broaden their product portfolio overcoming the limited performance of the present technology. These new product families will support these companies to grow from leading technology companies to major manufactures, as well as creating a new UK position in 2D manufacturing routes for active electronic components on diverse substrates. The products, themselves, have the potential to become ubiquitous as they offer energy savings, due to the low-cost associated with room temperature processing, from material development to devices fabrication, and impact from health care to new ambient electronics. The development of new 2D atomic layers will also provide innovative products to UK chemicals manufacturers as ink feedstock materials allowing establishing worldwide suppliers from early stage of field development following the model of graphene. The highly innovative nature of the proposed research on a field, which is still at its infancy, gives extensive opportunities for patents. Lastly, the project will create a leading team that will complement the already present graphene expertise. The staff trained during the project, which will also benefit from the environment within the Centre for Plastic Electronics and London Centre for Nanotechnology, will be highly qualified to translate the emerging technologies into commercial opportunities.
This additional attribute will be exploited for the manufacturing of environmentally stable channel materials for field effect transistors (FET). Colloidal chemistry necessary to produce high yield of monolayer in solution with high structural and electrical quality to implement room temperature scalable deterministic deposition techniques onto flexible/stretchable substrates for integration in FETs will be developed. By the end of the project this technology will be implemented in prototype n/p-channel FET and logic inverters on flexible/stretchable substrates will be demonstrated. UK companies, many of which are already at the leading edge of plastic electronics, will benefit from opportunities to broaden their product portfolio overcoming the limited performance of the present technology. These new product families will support these companies to grow from leading technology companies to major manufactures, as well as creating a new UK position in 2D manufacturing routes for active electronic components on diverse substrates. The products, themselves, have the potential to become ubiquitous as they offer energy savings, due to the low-cost associated with room temperature processing, from material development to devices fabrication, and impact from health care to new ambient electronics. The development of new 2D atomic layers will also provide innovative products to UK chemicals manufacturers as ink feedstock materials allowing establishing worldwide suppliers from early stage of field development following the model of graphene. The highly innovative nature of the proposed research on a field, which is still at its infancy, gives extensive opportunities for patents. Lastly, the project will create a leading team that will complement the already present graphene expertise. The staff trained during the project, which will also benefit from the environment within the Centre for Plastic Electronics and London Centre for Nanotechnology, will be highly qualified to translate the emerging technologies into commercial opportunities.
People |
ORCID iD |
Cecilia Mattevi (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Aba N
(2015)
Graphene oxide membranes on ceramic hollow fibers - Microstructural stability and nanofiltration performance
in Journal of Membrane Science
Barg S
(2014)
Mesoscale assembly of chemically modified graphene into complex cellular networks.
in Nature communications
Favaro M
(2014)
TiO2/graphene nanocomposites from the direct reduction of graphene oxide by metal evaporation
in Carbon
Jia J
(2018)
Fast Exfoliation and Functionalisation of Two-Dimensional Crystalline Carbon Nitride by Framework Charging
in Angewandte Chemie
Jia J
(2018)
Fast Exfoliation and Functionalisation of Two-Dimensional Crystalline Carbon Nitride by Framework Charging.
in Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)
Kim H
(2013)
Optoelectronic properties of graphene thin films deposited by a Langmuir-Blodgett assembly.
in Nanoscale
Mansor N
(2016)
Graphitic Carbon Nitride as a Catalyst Support in Fuel Cells and Electrolyzers
in Electrochimica Acta
Mansor N
(2016)
Graphitic Carbon Nitride-Graphene Hybrid Nanostructure as a Catalyst Support for Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells
in ECS Transactions
Pesci F
(2017)
MoS 2 /WS 2 Heterojunction for Photoelectrochemical Water Oxidation
in ACS Catalysis
Pham K
(2016)
Graphene-Carbon Nanotube Hybrids as Robust Catalyst Supports in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells
in Journal of The Electrochemical Society
Description | We have developed high quality conductive inks of two-dimensional atomically thin materials. The 2D materials involved are transition metal dichalcogenides (MoS2, WS2, WSe2) which are very promising materials for optoelectronic applications. These suspensions are unique as they are very stable (over more than 6 months) with concentration more than 1 mg/mL , present high yield of single-layer thick flakes with large lateral size. We therefore have developed methodologies to deposit these materials in the form of uniform thin films over large areas. In addition, we developed inks based on 2D materials for 3D printing on miniaturized objects. These suspension led to the demonstration that atomically thin layers of MoS2 and WS2 can oxidize water to O2 under incident light. Thin films of solution-processed MoS2 and WS2 nanosheets exhibit photocurrent densities of 0.45 mA cm-2 and O2 evolution under simulated solar irradiation. WS2 is significantly more efficient than MoS2 and heterojunctions (B-HJs) of MoS2 and WS2 nanosheets results in a 10-fold increase in incident-photon-to-current-efficiency, compared to the individual constituents. These results have suggested that the MoS2 and WS2 nanosheets and their blend are interesting photocatalytic systems to support solar-fuel production. |
Exploitation Route | These findings can lead to the development of scaling up production of thin films of these materials onto any substrate. Manufacturing techniques for large scale synthesis, ink development and deposition of 2D materials compatible with industrial processing. New avenues in the area of photoelectrocatalysis have been explored as well. |
Sectors | Electronics,Energy,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology |
Description | The findings have been used to established new fundamental knowledge in the field of solution processable semiconducting 2D materials beyond graphene. Semiconducting 2D materials can extensively benefit the society, from health care diagnostic wearable devices to telecommunication technologies. The materials synthesized in liquid phase has attracted interest of industries and organizations (BASF, National Physics Laboratories, Naval Research Laboratories) that are interested in following our large-scale synthesis developments to establish collaborations through new grant applications. |
First Year Of Impact | 2013 |
Sector | Energy,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology |
Impact Types | Societal,Economic |
Description | Graphene based composites for pipeline liners |
Amount | £479,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | Petronas |
Sector | Private |
Country | Malaysia |
Start | 06/2014 |
End | 12/2017 |
Description | University Research Fellowships Renewals 2017 |
Amount | £486,789 (GBP) |
Organisation | The Royal Society |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2018 |
End | 04/2021 |
Description | 3D printing of ceramic-graphene structures |
Organisation | University of Padova |
Department | Department of Industrial Engineering |
Country | Italy |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | We designed 3D printable inks based on graphene and ceramic materials and we have preformed the 3D printing. |
Collaborator Contribution | They provided guidance on the formulation of the ceramic precursor materials. |
Impact | It is a collaboration between Materials Scientists and led to the publication of a research article entitled "Direct Ink Writing of micrometric SiOC ceramic structures using a preceramic polymer". |
Start Year | 2014 |
Description | Los Alamos National Laboratory, Exeter University, Univeristy College London |
Organisation | Los Alamos National Laboratory |
Country | United States |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | Synthesis of high quality WS2 and proposal of the design of devices to be fabricates for light emission/harvesting uses (Los Alamos National Laboratory). Synthesis of high quality WS2 and joint discussions of what electronic devices to fabricate (Exeter University). Synthesis of high quality WS2 and proving materials to UCL team for advanced characterizations (University College London). |
Collaborator Contribution | Synthesis of high quality WS2 and proposal of the design of devices to be fabricates for light emission/harvesting uses (Los Alamos National Laboratory) to be realize by a research assistant of my team spending a secondment at LANL in 2015. Synthesis of high quality WS2 and joint discussions of what electronic devices to fabricate (Exeter University). Synthesis of high quality WS2 and proving materials to UCL team for advanced characterizations (University College London). |
Impact | All the named collaboration just started. |
Start Year | 2014 |
Description | Los Alamos National Laboratory, Exeter University, Univeristy College London |
Organisation | University College London |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Synthesis of high quality WS2 and proposal of the design of devices to be fabricates for light emission/harvesting uses (Los Alamos National Laboratory). Synthesis of high quality WS2 and joint discussions of what electronic devices to fabricate (Exeter University). Synthesis of high quality WS2 and proving materials to UCL team for advanced characterizations (University College London). |
Collaborator Contribution | Synthesis of high quality WS2 and proposal of the design of devices to be fabricates for light emission/harvesting uses (Los Alamos National Laboratory) to be realize by a research assistant of my team spending a secondment at LANL in 2015. Synthesis of high quality WS2 and joint discussions of what electronic devices to fabricate (Exeter University). Synthesis of high quality WS2 and proving materials to UCL team for advanced characterizations (University College London). |
Impact | All the named collaboration just started. |
Start Year | 2014 |
Description | Los Alamos National Laboratory, Exeter University, Univeristy College London |
Organisation | University of Exeter |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Synthesis of high quality WS2 and proposal of the design of devices to be fabricates for light emission/harvesting uses (Los Alamos National Laboratory). Synthesis of high quality WS2 and joint discussions of what electronic devices to fabricate (Exeter University). Synthesis of high quality WS2 and proving materials to UCL team for advanced characterizations (University College London). |
Collaborator Contribution | Synthesis of high quality WS2 and proposal of the design of devices to be fabricates for light emission/harvesting uses (Los Alamos National Laboratory) to be realize by a research assistant of my team spending a secondment at LANL in 2015. Synthesis of high quality WS2 and joint discussions of what electronic devices to fabricate (Exeter University). Synthesis of high quality WS2 and proving materials to UCL team for advanced characterizations (University College London). |
Impact | All the named collaboration just started. |
Start Year | 2014 |
Description | Invited talk at EuroDisplay 2013 - 33rd International Display Research Conference & Exhibition Sep15-18, London, UK |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | talk sparked interest, questions and discussion afterwards Invitation to give invited talks at further conferences |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
Description | conference, MRS Spring Metting San Francisco 2014 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Type Of Presentation | poster presentation |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Several visitors asked questions about the work including not only academics but industry Visit to reciprocal laboratories and proposal for exchanging samples and starting collaborations. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
URL | http://www.grapheneconf.com/ARCHIVE14/2014/Scienceconferences_Graphene2014.php |