Simplified Large-Area Manufacturing of Organic Electrochemical Transistors Combining Printing and a Self-Aligning Laser Ablation Step

A hybrid manufacturing approach for organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) on flexible substrates is reported. The technology is based on conventional and digital printing (screen and inkjet printing), laser processing, and post-press technologies. A careful selection of the conductive, dielectric, and semiconductor materials with respect to their optical properties enables a self-aligning pattern formation which results in a significant reduction of the usual registration problems during manufacturing. For the prototype OECTs, based on this technology, on/off ratios up to 600 and switching times of 100 milliseconds at gate voltages in the range of 1 V were obtained.