Direct Microrolling Processing on a Silicon Wafer

Although, varieties of micro‐ to nanoscale fabrication technologies have been invented and refined for silicon (Si) processing because Si is the basic material of integrated circuits, the layouts are based on layer‐by‐layer approaches, making it difficult to realize three‐dimensional (3D) structures with complicated shapes normal to the planar surface (along the out‐of‐plane direction) of the wafers used. Here, a novel and direct Si‐processing technology that enables to bend thin layers of Si surfaces into various 3D curved structures at the micrometer scale is introduced. This bending is achieved by porosifying a Si wafer surface using anodic oxidation and then performing conventional photolithography patterning and wet etching. The porosity gradient in the depth direction gives rise to a stress‐internalized layer in which self‐rolling action is induced via subsequent patterning and wet etching. A subsequent oxidation process further enhances the curvature deformation, leading to the formation of tubes, for example. The rolling directions can be controlled by 2D patterning of the porous Si layer, which is explained well from a structural dynamics perspective. This technology has a wide range of capabilities for realizing 3D structures on Si substrates, enabling new design possibilities for Si‐based on‐chip devices.     

On‐Chip Chemical Self‐Assembly of Semiconducting Single‐Walled Carbon Nanotubes (SWNTs): Toward Robust and Scale Invariant SWNTs Transistors

In this paper, the fabrication of carbon nanotubes field effect transistors by chemical self‐assembly of semiconducting single walled carbon nanotubes (s‐SWNTs) on prepatterned substrates is demonstrated. Polyfluorenes derivatives have been demonstrated to be effective in selecting s‐SWNTs from raw mixtures. In this work the authors functionalized the polymer with side chains containing thiols, to obtain chemical self‐assembly of the selected s‐SWNTs on substrates with prepatterned gold electrodes. The authors show that the full side functionalization of the conjugated polymer with thiol groups partially disrupts the s‐SWNTs selection, with the presence of metallic tubes in the dispersion. However, the authors determine that the selectivity can be recovered either by tuning the number of thiol groups in the polymer, or by modulating the polymer/SWNTs proportions. As demonstrated by optical and electrical measurements, the polymer containing 2.5% of thiol groups gives the best s‐SWNT purity. Field‐effect transistors with various channel lengths, using networks of SWNTs and individual tubes, are fabricated by direct chemical self‐assembly of the SWNTs/thiolated‐polyfluorenes on substrates with lithographically defined electrodes. The network devices show superior performance (mobility up to 24 cm² V^?1 s^?1), while SWNTs devices based on individual tubes show an unprecedented (100%) yield for working devices. Importantly, the SWNTs assembled by mean of the thiol groups are stably anchored to the substrate and are resistant to external perturbation as sonication in organic solvents.