NIST made transistors by spraying

P3HT - cheap electronic devices in the near future.

The International Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is experimenting with large-area sprayable electronics used in both solar cells and displays, using organic semiconductors.

"At this stage, we don't yet know which materials or manufacturing processes we use to get cheap and large-scale electronics." Said Chen, an electrical engineer at NIST. "What our team has accomplished is to transform the traditional material deposition method into sprayable to open the way to low-cost electronic devices."

The work of the team proved that the commonly used semiconductor organic material, poly (3-hexylthiophene), also known as P3HT, works very well as a semiconductor material.

When sprayed on a smooth surface, the P3HT film forms a rough and uneven surface - which is often a problem in other applications, but because the transistor acts below the surface - where it contacts the substrate - it works relatively well, Chen said.

According to Chan, sprayable electronics are more advantageous than other organic methods because of their cost-effectiveness. Other processes require expensive equipment or are simply not suitable for high volume production. New technology, on the other hand, can help us have cheap tools in the future.