“If we were to draw energy from a typical AA battery based on this design, it would last for a billion years.” — Sungsik Lee, PhD, in the journal Science.
Schematic cross-section of an Indium-gallium-zinc-oxide (IGZO) thin-film transistor [inset: schematic illustrations of atomic structures for less compensated (left) and more compensated (right) IGZO films, respectively] (credit: Sungsik Lee and Arokia Nathan/Science)
The transistors can be produced at low temperatures and can be printed on almost any material, such as glass, plastic, polyester fabrics, and paper.
Similar to a computer in sleep mode, the new transistor harnesses a tiny “leakage” of electrical current, known as “near-off-state current.” This leak at the point of contact between the metal and semiconducting components of a transistor, the “Schottky barrier,” is normally an undesirable characteristic of all transistors.
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