Electrical and mechanical characteristics of fully transparent IZO thin-film transistors on stress-relieving bendable substrates

Abstract

In this study, we report the electrical and mechanical characteristics of fully transparent indium zinc oxide (IZO) thin-film transistors (TFTs) fabricated on stress-relieving bendable substrates. An IZO TFT on a stress-relieving substrate can operate normally at a bending radius of 6mm, while an IZO TFT on a normal plastic substrate fails to operate normally at a bending radius of 15mm. A plastic island with high Young's modulus embedded on a soft elastomer layer with low Young's modulus plays the role of a stress-relieving substrate for the operation of the bent IZO TFT. The stress and strain distributions over the IZO TFT will be analyzed in detail in this paper. Published by AIP Publishing.