Dual Surface Architectonics for Directed Self-Assembly of Ultrahigh-Resolution Electronics

The directed self-assembly of electronic circuits using functional metallic inks has attracted intensive attention because of its high compatibility with extensive applications ranging from soft printed circuits to wearable devices. However, the typical resolution of conventional self-assembly technologies is not sufficient for practical applications in the rapidly evolving additively manufactured electronics (AMEs) market. Herein, an ultrahigh-resolution self-assembly strategy is reported based on a dual-surface-architectonics (DSA) process. Inspired by the Tokay gecko, the approach is to endow submicrometer-scale surface regions with strong adhesion force toward metallic inks via a series of photoirradiation and chemical polarization treatments. The prepared DSA surface enables the directed self-assembly of electronic circuits with unprecedented 600 nm resolution, suppresses the coffee-ring effect, and results in a reliable conductivity of 14.1 +/- 0.6 mu omega cm. Furthermore, the DSA process enables the layer-by-layer fabrication of fully printed organic thin-film transistors with a short channel length of 1 mu m, which results in a large on-off ratio of 10(6) and a high field-effect mobility of 0.5 cm(2) V-1 s(-1).

Automated summary

An ultrahigh-resolution self-assembly strategy is reported based on a dual-surface-architectonics (DSA) process, inspired by the Tokay gecko, to achieve strong adhesion force toward metallic inks. The prepared DSA surface enables the directed self-assembly of electronic circuits with unprecedented resolution, suppression of the coffee-ring effect, and reliable conductivity, as well as layer-by-layer fabrication of fully printed organic thin-film transistors with excellent performance.