The roll-to-roll (R2R) gravure process has the potential for manufacturing single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNT)-based thin film transistor (TFT) arrays on a flexible plastic substrate. A significant hurdle toward the commercialization of the R2R-printed SWCNT-TFT array is the lack of a suitable, simple, and rapid method for measuring the uniformity of printed products. We developed a probing instrument for characterizing R2R gravure printed TFT, named PICR2R-TFT, for rapidly characterizing R2R-printed SWCNT-TFT array that can present a geographical distribution profile to pinpoint the failed devices in an SWCNT-TFT array. Using the newly developed PICR2R-TFT instrument, the current-voltage characteristics of the fabricated SWCNT-TFT devices could be correlated to various R2R-printing process parameters, such as channel length, roll printing length, and printing speed. Thus, by introducing a characterization tool that is reliable and fast, one can quickly optimize the R2R gravure printing conditions to enhance product uniformity, thereby maximizing the yield of printed SWCNT-TFT arrays.
Keywords: probing instrument; roll-to-roll gravure; thin film transistor arrays; uniformity.