Indian Scientists Develop Super-Flexible Composite Semiconductors. What It's For

The composite semiconductor is made up of two materials a water-insoluble polymer such as ethyl cellulose that provides flexibility, and indium oxide, a semiconductor which brings in excellent electronic transport properties.

Scientists at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have developed a super flexible, composite semiconductor material that can have possible applications in next-generation flexible or curved displays, foldable phones and wearable electronics.

Traditional semiconductor devices – such as transistors, the building blocks of most electronic circuits – used in display industries are either made of amorphous silicon or amorphous oxides, both of which are not flexible and strain tolerant at all. Adding polymers to the oxide semiconductors may increase their flexibility, but there is a limit to how much can be added without compromising the semiconductor's performance, IISc noted.

In the current study, published in journal 'Advanced Materials Technologies', the researchers of the premier institute's Department of Materials Engineering have found a way to fabricate a composite containing a significant amount of polymer – up to 40 per cent of the material weight – using a solution-process technique, specifically inkjet printing.