Flexible organic electronics requires processing and patterning of electroactive materials from solvents. Although printing and ink jetting are the most popular techniques, these can’t produce nanodevices as they yield structures that are microns and above in size.
Mahiar Hamedi and colleagues of Linkoping University have now overcome this problem by taking advantage of a new method that is based on using a large elastomer nanotemplate. The researchers place the elastomer in contact with a substrate filled with a solution of the conducting polymer PEDOT-S and remove the elastomer when the solution solidifies. The technique could eventually produce structures smaller than 100 nm regularly patterned over large areas.
"The news here is that PEDOT-S retains its electrical conductivity even when the patterns produced are sub-micron in size," Hamedi told nanotechweb.org. "Such a result has never been seen before with other highly conducting polymers."
The team also showed that it could make connected structures, such as micro/nano-lines and nanotransistors, using its technique.
Hamedi says that it should eventually be possible to make high-density crossbars in conducting polymers and use these in nano applications such as memories and biosensors.
The scientists now plan to make even smaller structures and investigate crossbar formation.
The work was published in Nano Letters.