Device design principles and bioelectronic applications for flexible organic electrochemical transistors

Organic electrochemical transistors(OECTs) exhibit significant potential for applications in healthcare and human-machine interfaces, due to their tunable synthesis, facile deposition, and excellent biocompatibility. Expanding OECTs to the fexible devices will significantly facilitate stable contact with the skin and enable more possible bioelectronic applications. In this work,we summarize the device physics of fexible OECTs, aiming to offer a foundational understanding and guidelines for material selection and device architecture. Particular attention is paid to the advanced manufacturing approaches, including photolithography and printing techniques, which establish a robust foundation for the commercialization and large-scale fabrication. And abundantly demonstrated examples ranging from biosensors, artificial synapses/neurons, to bioinspired nervous systems are summarized to highlight the considerable prospects of smart healthcare. In the end, the challenges and opportunities are proposed for fexible OECTs. The purpose of this review is not only to elaborate on the basic design principles of fexible OECTs, but also to act as a roadmap for further exploration of wearable OECTs in advanced bio-applications.

Force and impulse multi-sensor based on flexible gate dielectric field effect transistor

Nowadays,force sensors play an important role in industrial production,electronic information,medical health,and many other fields.Two-dimensional material-based filed effect transistor(2D-FET)sensors are competitive with nano-level size,lower power consumption,and accurate response.However,few of them has the capability of impulse detection which is a path function,expressing the cumulative effect of the force on the particle over a period of time.Herein we fabricated the flexible polymethyl methacrylate(PMMA)gate dielectric MoS_(2)-FET for force and impulse sensor application.We systematically investigated the responses of the sensor to constant force and varying forces,and achieved the conversion factors of the drain current signals(I_(ds))to the detected impulse(I).The applied force was detected and recorded by I_(ds)with a low power consumption of~30 nW.The sensitivity of the device can reach~8000%and the 4×1 sensor array is able to detect and locate the normal force applied on it.Moreover,there was almost no performance loss for the device as left in the air for two months.

Review of flexible and transparent thin-film transistors based on zinc oxide and related materials

Flexible and transparent electronics enters into a new era of electronic technologies.Ubiquitous applications involve wearable electronics,biosensors,flexible transparent displays,radio-frequency identifications（RFIDs）,etc.Zinc oxide（ZnO） and relevant materials are the most commonly used inorganic semiconductors in flexible and transparent devices,owing to their high electrical performances,together with low processing temperatures and good optical transparencies.In this paper,we review recent advances in flexible and transparent thin-film transistors（TFTs） based on ZnO and relevant materials.After a brief introduction,the main progress of the preparation of each component（substrate,electrodes,channel and dielectrics） is summarized and discussed.Then,the effect of mechanical bending on electrical performance is highlighted.Finally,we suggest the challenges and opportunities in future investigations.

Bioinspired tactile perception platform with information encryption function

Mimicking tactile perception is critical to the development of advanced interactive neuromorphic platforms.Inspired by cutaneous perceptual functions,a bionic tactile perceptual platform is proposed.PDMS-based tactile sensors act as bionic skin touch receptors.Flexible indium tin oxide neuromorphic transistors fabricated with a single-step mask pro-cessing act as artificial synapses.Thus,the tactile perceptual platform possesses the ability of information processing.Interestingly,the flexible tactile perception platform can find applications in information encryption and decryption.With adoption of cipher,signal transmitted by the perception platform is encrypted.Thus,the security of information transmis-sion is effectively improved.The flexible tactile perceptual platform would have potentials in cognitive wearable devices,advanced human-machine interaction system,and intelligent bionic robots.

Flexible optoelectronic neural transistors with broadband spectrum sensing and instant electrical processing for multimodal neuromorphic computing

A flexible optoelectronic neural transistor(OENT)that consists of a one‐step spin‐coated tri‐blend film composed of 2,7‐dioctyl[1]benzothieno[3,2‐b][1]benzothiophene(C8‐BTBT),poly(3‐hexylthiophene‐2,5‐diyl)(P3HT),and poly(methyl methacrylate)(PMMA)is demonstrated.The C8‐BTBT and P3HT phases in the film partially segregate into distinct domains,which combine to provide broadband spectrum sensing,and instant electrical‐processing capabilities dominated by C8‐BTBT.The OENT is sensitive to solar radiation from the near‐ultraviolet(NUV)and to visible(Vis)radiation from blue to red.When exposed to NUV radiation,the OENT responds sensitively and retains the memory of the exposure for over 10^(3 )s.The OENT provides a warning of excessive chronic exposure to harmful NUV.These properties allow high‐pass filtering with different cut‐off frequencies fc that can restrict the reception of blue,green,or red.These switchable fc enables sensitive image reconstruction and multitarget monitoring.The device combined with a chitosan gel achieves strictly defined short‐range plasticity of<1 s that can achieve diverse instant‐computing applications such as spatiotemporally correlated coding and logic functions.Stable real‐time signal processing facilitates the realization of a Morse‐code recognition system constructed using neuro‐morphological hardware,achieving highly accurate character recognition.This study provides a useful resource that can have applications in wearable biomedical electronics and multimodal neuromorphic computing.

Oxide-based thin film transistors for flexible electronics

The continuous progress in thin film materials and devices has greatly promoted the development in the field of flexible electronics. As one of the most common thin film devices, thin film transistors（TFTs） are significant building blocks for flexible platforms. Flexible oxide-based TFTs are well compatible with flexible electronic systems due to low process temperature, high carrier mobility, and good uniformity. The present article is a review of the recent progress and major trends in the field of flexible oxide-based thin film transistors. First, an introduction of flexible electronics and flexible oxide-based thin film transistors is given. Next, we introduce oxide semiconductor materials and various flexible oxide-based TFTs classified by substrate materials including polymer plastics, paper sheets, metal foils, and flexible thin glass. Afterwards, applications of flexible oxide-based TFTs including bendable sensors, memories, circuits, and displays are presented. Finally, we give conclusions and a prospect for possible development trends.

Review of recent progresses on flexible oxide semiconductor thin film transistors based on atomic layer deposition processes

The current article is a review of recent progress and major trends in the field of flexible oxide thin film transistors（TFTs）, fabricating with atomic layer deposition（ALD） processes. The ALD process offers accurate controlling of film thickness and composition as well as ability of achieving excellent uniformity over large areas at relatively low temperatures. First, an introduction is provided on what is the definition of ALD, the difference among other vacuum deposition techniques, and the brief key factors of ALD on flexible devices. Second, considering functional layers in flexible oxide TFT, the ALD process on polymer substrates may improve device performances such as mobility and stability, adopting as buffer layers over the polymer substrate, gate insulators, and active layers. Third, this review consists of the evaluation methods of flexible oxide TFTs under various mechanical stress conditions. The bending radius and repetition cycles are mostly considering for conventional flexible devices. It summarizes how the device has been degraded/changed under various stress types（directions）. The last part of this review suggests a potential of each ALD film, including the releasing stress, the optimization of TFT structure, and the enhancement of device performance. Thus, the functional ALD layers in flexible oxide TFTs offer great possibilities regarding anti-mechanical stress films, along with flexible display and information storage application fields.

Recent progress of flexible electronics by 2D transition metal dichalcogenides

Flexible electronics is the research field with interdisciplinary crossing and integration.It shows the promising advantages of novel device configurations,low-cost and low-power consumption due to their flexible and soft characteristics.Atomic layered two-dimensional(2D)materials especially transition metal dichalcogenides,have triggered great interest in ultra-thin 2D flexible electronic devices and optoelectronic devices because of their direct and tunable bandgaps,excellent electrical,optical,mechanical,and thermal properties.This review aims to provide the recent progress in 2D TMDs and their applications in flexible electronics.The fundamental electrical properties and mechanical properties of materials,flexible device configurations,and their performance in transistors,sensors,and photodetectors are thoroughly discussed.At last,some perspectives are given on the open challenges and prospects for 2D TMDs flexible electronic devices and new device opportunities.