Microwave flexible transistors on cellulose nanofibrillated fiber substrates

In this paper, we demonstrate microwave flexible thin-film transistors (TFTs) on biodegradable substrates towards potential green portable devices. The combination of cellulose nanofibrillated fiber (CNF) substrate, which is a biobased and biodegradable platform, with transferrable single crystalline Si nanomembrane (Si NM), enables the realization of truly biodegradable, flexible, and high performance devices. Double-gate flexible Si NM TFTs built on a CNF substrate have shown an electron mobility of 160cm2/V·s and fT and fmax of 4.9GHz and 10.6GHz, respectively. This demonstration proves the microwave frequency capability and, considering today's wide spread use of wireless devices, thus indicates the much wider utility of CNF substrates than that has been demonstrated before. The demonstration may also pave the way toward portable green devices that would generate less persistent waste and save more valuable resources. © 2015 AIP Publishing LLC.