Nanotransfer printing by use of noncovalent surface forces: Applications to thin-film transistors that use single-walled carbon nanotube networks and semiconducting polymers

We report a purely additive nanotransfer printing process that uses noncovalent surface forces to guide the transfer of thin metal films from low-energy surfaces of high-resolution stamps to a variety of substrates. Structures with dimensions as small as a few hundred nanometers, with edge roughness as small as $10\mathrm{nm}$ are demonstrated. Metal multilayer stacks patterned in this way have electrical resistances that are the same as those formed by evaporation and conventional lithography. Thin-film transistors that use source/drain electrodes printed directly onto thin films of the semiconducting polymer regioregular polythiophene and networks of single-walled carbon nanotubes exhibit device mobilities and on/off ratios that are comparable to or higher than those of devices fabricated using standard methods.