C.M.J. Mutsaers

Bio: C.M.J. Mutsaers is an academic researcher from Philips. The author has contributed to research in topics: Conductive polymer & Layer (electronics). The author has an hindex of 8, co-authored 10 publications receiving 1275 citations.

Low-cost all-polymer integrated circuits

Abstract: A technology has been developed to make all polymer integrated circuits. It involves reproducible fabrication of field-effect transistors in which the semiconducting, conducting and insulating parts are all made of polymers. The fabrication on flexible substrates uses spin-coating of electrically active precursors and patternwise exposure of the deposited films. In the whole process stack integrity is maintained. Vertical interconnects are made mechanically. As a demonstrator functional 15-bit programmable code generators are fabricated. These circuits still operate when the foils are sharply bent. Due to the limited number of process steps the technology is potentially inexpensive.

Method of manufacturing a pattern of an electrically conductive polymer on a substrate surface and method of metallizing such a pattern

Abstract: A solution of monomers, oligomers or polymers and a suitable oxidation agent can be stable if the solution also comprises a base. By spin coating this solution onto a substrate, a layer can be formed which, after patterned irradiation, yields a pattern of a doped conductive polymer which is formed in situ, the exposed and unexposed areas exhibiting a large difference in conductivity. A description is given of, inter alia, the patterned irradiation of a layer of 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene. If desired, the conductive polymer pattern can subsequently be metallized in an electroplating bath. The method provides, inter alia, a simple process of manufacturing metal patterns on insulating substrates, such as printed circuit boards.

Laminated structure of a metal layer on a conductive polymer layer and method of manufacturing such a structure

Abstract: A laminated structure (1) comprising a substrate (3) and a polymer layer (5) is provided The polymer layer consists of conductive areas (7) having a sheet resistance of maximally 1000 Ω/sqaure The adjacent parts of the polymer layer are substantially non-conductive and have a sheet resistance which is a factor of 106 higher An electrodeposited metal layer (9), for example of copper, is present on the conductive areas (7) A simple method of photochemically generating the conductive pattern (7) which can be reinforced in an aqueous metal-salt solution by electrodeposition of a metal layer (9) is also provided and most preferably the conductive pattern is inter alia, the patterned exposure of a layer of 3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene or polyaniline The method can very suitably be used for the manufacture of metal patterns on insulating substrates, such as printed circuit boards

The path to ubiquitous and low-cost organic electronic appliances on plastic

Abstract: Organic electronics are beginning to make significant inroads into the commercial world, and if the field continues to progress at its current, rapid pace, electronics based on organic thin-film materials will soon become a mainstay of our technological existence. Already products based on active thin-film organic devices are in the market place, most notably the displays of several mobile electronic appliances. Yet the future holds even greater promise for this technology, with an entirely new generation of ultralow-cost, lightweight and even flexible electronic devices in the offing, which will perform functions traditionally accomplished using much more expensive components based on conventional semiconductor materials such as silicon.

Organic Thin Film Transistors for Large Area Electronics

Abstract: Organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) have lived to see great improvements in recent years. This review presents new insight into conduction mechanisms and performance characteristics, as well as opportunities for modeling properties of OTFTs. The shifted focus in research from novel chemical structures to fabrication technologies that optimize morphology and structural order is underscored by chapters on vacuum-deposited and solution-processed organic semiconducting films. Finally, progress in the growing field of the n-type OTFTs is discussed in ample detail. The Figure, showing a pentacene film edge on SiO2, illustrates the morphology issue.

Two-dimensional charge transport in self-organized, high-mobility conjugated polymers

Abstract: Self-organization in many solution-processed, semiconducting conjugated polymers results in complex microstructures, in which ordered microcrystalline domains are embedded in an amorphous matrix1. This has important consequences for electrical properties of these materials: charge transport is usually limited by the most difficult hopping processes and is therefore dominated by the disordered matrix, resulting in low charge-carrier mobilities2 (⩽10-5 cm2 V-1 s-1). Here we use thin-film, field-effect transistor structures to probe the transport properties of the ordered microcrystalline domains in the conjugated polymer poly(3-hexylthiophene), P3HT. Self-organization in P3HT results in a lamella structure with two-dimensional conjugated sheets formed by interchain stacking. We find that, depending on processing conditions, the lamellae can adopt two different orientations—parallel and normal to the substrate—the mobilities of which differ by more than a factor of 100, and can reach values as high as 0.1 cm2 V-1 s-1 (refs 3, 4). Optical spectroscopy of the field-induced charge, combined with the mobility anisotropy, reveals the two-dimensional interchain character of the polaronic charge carriers, which exhibit lower relaxation energies than the corresponding radical cations on isolated one-dimensional chains. The possibility of achieving high mobilities via two-dimensional transport in self-organized conjugated lamellae is important for applications of polymer transistors in logic circuits5 and active-matrix displays4,6.

High-Resolution Inkjet Printing of All-Polymer Transistor Circuits

Abstract: Direct printing of functional electronic materials may provide a new route to low-cost fabrication of integrated circuits. However, to be useful it must allow continuous manufacturing of all circuit components by successive solution deposition and printing steps in the same environment. We demonstrate direct inkjet printing of complete transistor circuits, including via-hole interconnections based on solution-processed polymer conductors, insulators, and self-organizing semiconductors. We show that the use of substrate surface energy patterning to direct the flow of water-based conducting polymer inkjet droplets enables high-resolution definition of practical channel lengths of 5 micrometers. High mobilities of 0.02 square centimeters per volt second and on-off current switching ratios of 10 5 were achieved.

"Synthetic Metals": A Novel Role for Organic Polymers (Nobel Lecture).

Abstract: Since the initial discovery in 1977, that polyacetylene (CH)(x), now commonly known as the prototype conducting polymer, could be p- or n-doped either chemically or electrochemically to the metallic state, the development of the field of conducting polymers has continued to accelerate at an unexpectedly rapid rate and a variety of other conducting polymers and their derivatives have been discovered. Other types of doping are also possible, such as "photo-doping" and "charge-injection doping" in which no counter dopant ion is involved. One exciting challenge is the development of low-cost disposable plastic/paper electronic devices. Conventional inorganic conductors, such as metals, and semiconductors, such as silicon, commonly require multiple etching and lithographic steps in fabricating them for use in electronic devices. The number of processing and etching steps involved limits the minimum price. On the other hand, conducting polymers combine many advantages of plastics, for example, flexibility and processing from solution, with the additional advantage of conductivity in the metallic or semiconducting regimes; however, the lack of simple methods to obtain inexpensive conductive polymer shapes/patterns limit many applications. Herein is described a novel, simple, and cheap method to prepare patterns of conducting polymers by a process which we term, "Line Patterning".