Prospects of manufacturing organic semiconductor-based integrated circuits

The driving force for developing organic thin-film transistor (OTFT)-based electronics is the fact that they are flexible, lightweight and have the pr ospect of low-cost manufacturing. Major barriers in the practical realizati on of OTFT-based electronic systems are the need for larger power supplies, lower gain, lower switching speeds and reliability problems. New direction s leading to changes in the design of transistors, materials used in the fa brication, and processing techniques are warranted for developing process a nd equipment that can lead to the manufacturing of OTFT-based electronics. For developing dense OTFT-based electronics, the low thermal conductivity ( as compared to silicon) of organic semiconductors is a fundamental problem. The use of nanodimension polymers with homogeneous microstructure, transis tors operating in subthreshold region and the use of new materials (high an d low dielectric constant dielectric materials as wen as Cu as the conducto r for interconnections) for fabricating transistors and a novel rapid photo thermal processing technique for depositing thin films of organic semicondu ctors as well as for reducing the defects introduced during processing are some of the proposed directions that may lead to the manufacturing of OTFT- based electronics.