Press induced enhancement of contact resistance innanocomposite FET based on ZnO nanowire/polymer

A simple route of externalmechanical force is presented for enhancing the electrical properties ofpolymer nanocomposite consisted of nanowires. By dispersing ZnO nanowires inpolymer solution and drop casting on substrates, nanocomposite transistorscontaining ZnO nanowires are successfully fabricated. Even though the ZnOnanowires density is properly controlled for device fabrication, as-cast devicedoesn't show any detectablecurrents, because nanowires are separated far from each other with theinsulating polymer matrix intervening between them. Compared to the devicepressed at 300 kPa, the device pressed at 600 kPa currents increased by 50times showing the linear behavior against drain voltage and exhibits promisingelectrical properties, which operates in the depletion mode with highermobility and on-current. Such an improved device performance would be realizedby the contacts improvement and the increase of the number of electrical pathinduced by external force. This approach provides a viable solution for seriouscontact resistance problem of nanocomposite materials and promises for futuremanufacturing of high-performance devices.