All-Carbon Thin-Film Transistors as a Step Towards Flexible and Transparent Electronics

Carbon nanotubes and graphene have attracted great attention for potential applications in flexible and transparent electronics, owing to their exceptional properties including very high electrical conductivity, optical transmittance, mechanical strength and flexibility. Thin films of carbon nanotubes or graphene are promising for fabricating high-quality semiconducting channels and transparent conductive films, as electrodes and interconnects in thin-film transistors and integrated circuits, which allows the construction of all-carbon electronics. This article reviews the main approaches to and important findings in the fabrication of flexible and transparent electrodes and channels for thin-film transistors, and highlights recent achievements of flexible and transparent all-carbon thin-film transistors, in terms of design, fabrication and performance evaluation. This all-carbon strategy opens up a way to achieve extremely flexible, transparent and stretchable electronics with relatively low cost and fast fabrication techniques, compared to the traditional rigid silicon, metal and metal oxide electronics.