Thin Film Electronics

The Thin Film Electronics Project enables the commercialization of emerging and future semiconductor electronic device technologies, such as flexible/printed electronics, replacements to scaled Si logic and memory, and Gen II and III solar cells by tailoring existing measurements, establishing new measurements, and designing and building device analogous high quality test structures to provide the measurement science infrastructure necessary for underpinning innovation in industry, academia, and government laboratories.

The Thin Film Electronics Project conducts basic research to develop and advance novel measurements that combine and correlate optical and electrical methods such as internal photoemission, spectroscopic ellipsometry, temperature dependent current-voltage spectroscopy, impedance spectroscopy, and transient photo-current/voltage spectroscopy. Particular emphasis is placed on direct, non-destructive optical-electrical and electrical measurement methods to quantify band structure, charge transport, and density of in-gap electrically active traps for the rational design and advanced manufacturing of emerging and future semiconductor electronics devices.

A graphene-insulator-semiconductor sample under electrical test.

The Project collaborates within our group, across NIST, and with leaders outside of NIST working in relevant semiconductor device technologies to conduct timely, high-impact research.

Candidate technologies presently investigated include: Homo/heterojunction tunnel FETs, high mobility CMOS, heterojunction solar cells, printable electronic materials and devices such as organic TFTs and solar cells, transparent metal oxide TFTs, and graphene and other layered 2D electronic materials for thin film flexible electronics.

Nhan Nguyen performs optical measurements.

• First direct Band Structure measurements of Graphene FETs using IPE/SE
• Established Band Structure studies with Intel for T-FETs
• Established Direct Correlation of Charge Transport, Thin Film Microstructure, and Composition for Organic Electronic Devices