THE UNIVERSITY of LIVERPOOL

1. THE UNIVERSITY of LIVERPOOL Cambridge, Physics: TFT physics and data Cambridge, Chemistry Liverpool, Chemistry: TFT material (P3HT) Heriot-Watt, Bristol Chemistry: Deposition of Diamond Liverpool, Elec.Eng: Devices and circuit models KCL, Warwick Physics: EPR, diamond and C60 Cambridge,Eng: Nanotube TFT & composites UCL, Elec. Eng., Physics: DTLS & theory, diamond Oxford, Chemistry: Diamond Substrates Imperial, Physics & Chemistry: Polymers and materials Bangor: Polymer field effect devices/materials Surrey, Electronics: Multiple nanotubes Sussex, Chemistry: nanotube synthesis Carbon Based Electronics: A National ConsortiumGRANT REF: GR/R97092/01Coordination: Prof Bill Eccleston, Prof Alison Mainwood, Prof Bill Milne01/10/2002 – 31/11/2006 Disciplines Engineering Chemistry Electronics Physics University Collaboration Consortium Objective To co-ordinate UK research on carbon-based electronics and the material properties that are required to produce them, in order to enhance the international position that UK companies and research institutions already hold in this field by: • developing novel, existing growth processing techniques and materials in order todesign, produce and test improved devices. • introducingnovel combinations of carbon-based materials and processing techniques, in order to devise innovation electronic devices. • training of scientists, engineers and students in the wide-ranging technologies required to exploit the research in the form of commercial devices in the UK. Achievements An EELS study (Surrey) of MWNT coated with WS2 (Sussex) shows for the first time that 4 monolayers are the lower limit to bulk dielectric behaviour. This table (left) shows the Meyer Neldel energies found experimentally using different polymer devices. Examples of Thin Film transistors (Cambridge Eng) with nanotubes. Such structures have the capacity to exceed the carrier mobilities of silicon. Electron conduction in polymer TFT channels was thought unlikely. The values shown in this table (right) demonstrate that this is an extrinsic effect. CMOS is now possible. The project has produced an improved understanding of conduction processes in these materials and their impact on a wide range of devices and potential circuits. It has been able to look at new materials and their processing. Many of the collaborations continue and up to 50 people have benefited from laboratory based experience as well as the workshops. Publications to date: 128+