[Abstract]

Semiconducting nanowires provide routes for realizing high-performance electronic devices, but for many applications of such devices low-cost manufacturing techniques are needed. The authors demonstrate here top-gated zinc oxide nanowire field effect transistors NW-FETs fabricated by ink-jet printing. High resolution submicrometer gold gaps between source and drain electrodes were defined by a self-aligned ink-jet printing technique, and the nanowires were deposited from solution onto these electrode arrays and gated from the top using a spin-coated polymethyl methacrylate gate dielectric. The typical NW-FETs exhibited a mobility of 2–4 cm2/V s, a current on/off ratio of 104, and a transconductance of 20.5 nS. The process provides a pathway for fabrication of NW-FETs by low-cost, large-area solution processing and direct printing techniques.