Scalable High-Speed Hybrid Complementary Integrated Circuits based on Solution-Processed Organic and Inorganic Transistors

Abstract Printed electronics offer a cost-efficient way to realise flexible electronic devices. The combined use of p-type and n-type semiconductors would yield silicon-like integrated circuits with low power consumption and stability. However, printing complementary circuits is challenging due to a lack of suitable material systems. To counter this, we employed a hybrid system to integrate p-type organic semiconductors (OSCs) and n-type amorphous metal oxide semiconductors (MOSs). These damage-free patterned OSC- and MOS-based thin-film transistors with improved process durability allowed the fabrication of hybrid complementary circuits on flexible substrates. These inverters functioned well even after exposure to air for 5 months. A large noise margin and power gain of 38 were realised with a supply voltage as low as 7 V. Furthermore, a five-stage ring oscillator with a stage propagation delay of 1.3 µs was achieved, which is the fastest operation ever reported for printed, flexible complementary inverters.