Transfer of patterned vertically aligned carbon nanotubes onto plastic substrates for flexible electronics and field emission devices

A direct transfer method for fabricating flexible electronics without the assistance of an adhesive layer and stamp is reported in this paper. This rapid and simple method provides an approach for the application of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (VA-CNTs) on plastic substrates. After transfer, the VA-CNTs maintained their initial orientation in the designed pattern and showed sufficient adhesion to the substrate under extreme bending conditions. The flexible device performed an emission on the transparent substrate and showed a low turn-on of 1.13 V/mu m. This VA-CNT-based flexible device, which exhibits electrical resistance sensitive to bending, is also described herein. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [DOI: 10.1063/1.3167775]