Nature-Inspired Capillary-Driven Welding Process for Boosting Metal-Oxide Nanofiber Electronics

Recently, semiconducting nanofiber networks (NFNs) have been considered as one of the most promising platforms for large-area and low-cost electronics applications. However, the high contact resistance among stacking nanofibers remained to be a major challenge, leading to poor device performance and parasitic energy consumption. In this report, a controllable welding technique for NFNs was successfully demonstrated via a bioinspired capillary-driven process. The interfiber connections were well-achieved via a cooperative concept, combining localized capillary condensation and curvature-induced surface diffusion. With the improvements of the interfiber connections, the welded NFNs exhibited enhanced mechanical property and high electrical performance. The field-effect transistors (FETs) based on the welded Hf-doped In2O3 (InHfO) NFNs were demonstrated for the first time. Meanwhile, the mechanisms involved in the grain-boundary modulation for polycrystalline metal-oxide nanofibers were discussed. When the h...