Carbon nanotube electronics – moving forward

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) possess fascinating electrical properties and offer new entries into a wide range of novel electronic applications that are unattainable with conventional Si-based devices. The field initially focused on the use of individual or parallel arrays of nanotubes as the channel material for ultra-scaled nanoelectronic devices. However, the challenge in the deterministic assembly has proven to be a major technological barrier. In recent years, solution deposition of semiconductor-enriched SWNT networks has been actively explored for high performance and uniform thin-film transistors (TFTs) on mechanically rigid and flexible substrates. This presents a unique niche for nanotube electronics by overcoming their limitations and taking full advantage of their superb chemical and physical properties. This review focuses on the large-area processing and electronic properties of SWNT TFTs. A wide range of applications in conformal integrated circuits, radio-frequency electronics, artificial skin sensors, and displays are discussed--with emphasis on large-area systems where nm-scale accuracy in the assembly of nanotubes is not required. The demonstrations show SWNTs' immense promise as a low-cost and scalable TFT technology for nonconventional electronic systems with excellent device performances.