Abstract: A method for forming a semiconductor body, the method comprising: forming a mixture of an organic semiconducting material and a binder material; causing the semiconducting material to at least partially solidify; and causing the binder material to crystallize in such a way as to cause the semiconducting material to at least partially segregate from the binder material.

Abstract: A method for forming a transistor, comprising: depositing a first material from solution in a first solvent to form a first layer of the transistor; and subsequently whilst the first material remains soluble in the first solvent, forming a second layer of the transistor by depositing over the first material a second material from solution in a second solvent in which the first material is substantially insoluble.

Abstract: A technique for high-resolution surface energy assisted patterning of semiconductor active layer islands on top of an array of predefined source-drain electrodes without requiring an additional process step for surface energy patterning.

Abstract: A method of producing an electronic device including the steps of: (i) providing a body including a first, conductive element separated from a first surface of said body by a portion of said body; (ii) removing a selected portion of said body to define a recess in said body extending from said first surface and via which a portion of said first element is exposed; and (iii) putting into said recess a liquid medium carrying a first material; wherein said first material is preferentially deposited on the exposed inner surface of said body defining said recess, and wherein the deposited first material is used to provide a connection between said first element and a second conductive element located within said body or later deposited over said first surface of said body.

Abstract: We describe an electronic document reader system for viewing electronic documents, in which the electronic documents are viewable on a removable electronic document reader display that is useable whilst removed from an electronic document reader display holder. The system comprises: a removable non-volatile display for viewing electronic documents thereon, the display having a display portion on which electronic documents are viewable; a display holder for receiving the removable display, the display holder comprising a back, and an open front shaped to receive the removable display, each of the display and the holder having an electrical interface, wherein, when the removable display is received in the open front, the removable display and holder form an electrically connected combined unit to enable the display to receive document data from the holder for display, and wherein the removable display is useable to read electronic documents when removed from the display holder.

Abstract: A method for forming an integrated circuit including at least two interconnected electronic switching devices, the method comprising forming at least part of the electronic switching devices by ink-jet printing.

Abstract: A method for forming an organic or partly organic switching device, comprising: depositing layers of conducting, semiconducting and/or insulating layers by solution processing and direct printing; defining microgrooves in the multilayer structure by solid state embossing; and forming a switching device inside the microgroove.

Abstract: This invention relates to the fabrication of electronic devices, such as thin-film transistors, in particular thin-film transistors in which patterning techniques are used for definition of electrode patterns that need to be accurately aligned with respect to underlying electrodes. The fabrication technique is applicable to various patterning techniques, such as laser ablation patterning or solution-based, direct-write printing techniques which are not capable of forming structures with a small linewidth, and/or that cannot be positioned very accurately with respect to previously deposited patterns. We thus describe self-aligned gate techniques which are applicable for both gate patterning by a subtractive technique, in particular selective laser ablation patterning, and gate patterning by an additive technique such as printing. The techniques facilitate the use of low-resolution gate patterning.

Abstract: A method of forming a patterned layer, including the steps of: (i) depositing via a liquid medium a first material onto a substrate to form a first body on said substrate; (ii) depositing via a liquid medium a second material onto said substrate to form a second body, wherein said first body is used to control said deposition of said second material so as to form a patterned structure including said first and second bodies; and (iii) using said patterned structure to control the removal of selected portions of a layer of material in a dry etching process or in a wet etching process using a bath of etchant.

Abstract: We describe a portable paperless electronic printer for displaying a printed document on an electronic paper display. The paperless electronic printer includes an input to receive print data from an output of a printer driver of a computerised electronic device, a non-volatile electrophoretic display to provide an electronic paper display of stored said print data for a said document page to mimic said document page when printed on paper; and a processor coupled to said input, to non-volatile memory, and to said non-volatile electrophoretic display and configured to input said print data, to store said data derived from said print data in said non-volatile memory, and to provide to said non-volatile electrophoretic display data for displaying a said document page derived from said stored data.

Abstract: A method for forming an electronic device in a multilayer structure comprising the steps of: defining a topographic profile in a laterally extending first layer; depositing at least one non-planarizing layer on top of the first layer such that the topographic profile of the surface of the or each non-planarizing layer conforms to that of the laterally extending first layer; and depositing a pattern of at least one additional layer onto the top-most non-planarizing layer, such that the lateral location of the additional layer is defined by the shape of the topographic profile of the non-planarizing layer, and whereby the additional layer is laterally aligned with the topographic profile in the first layer.

Abstract: A printing machine includes a substrate and at least one printhead with at least two material deposition channels which are movable with respect to the substrate, wherein the printhead is mounted on a stage which allows rotation of the printhead around an axis perpendicular to the substrate and translation in a direction perpendicular to the print direction, and wherein during each print swath, the rotation angle and translation values of the printhead are varied in order to change the pitch and the lateral position in the direction perpendicular to the print direction of material deposited from the different deposition channels; and an algorithm which computes the required rotation angles and translation values for a given pattern of substrate distortion.

Abstract: A method is provided for fabricating a multilayer electronic device on a flexible substrate including at least a first and a second patterned layer, wherein the first patterned layer is defined with a linewidth that is smaller than the linewidth of the second patterned layer, and the second patterned layer is defined by a patterning technique which is capable of correcting for local distortions of the pattern of said first layer on top of the flexible substrate and wherein the first patterned layer is laid-out in such a way that the geometric overlap between a portion of the second layer and a portion of the first layer is insensitive against small variations of the position of the second patterned layer.

Abstract: A method for forming an organic or partly organic switching device. The method comprises depositing layers of conducing, semiconducting and/or insulating layers by solution processing and direct printing. Then, high-resolution patterns of electroactive polymers are formed by self-aligned formation of a surface energy barrier around a first pattern that repels the solution of a second material.

Abstract: A field effect transistor is provided which comprises a gate electrode, a source electrode, a drain electrode, at least one organic semiconducting layer, and a hole transport layer for transferring holes from said source and drain electrodes to said organic semiconducting layer, wherein said hole transport layer comprises a layered metal chalcogenide. Processes for depositing a thin layer of a layered metal dichalcogenide on a substrate and for producing top gate structures on a layered metal chalcogenide layer in the manufacture of field effect transistors according to the invention are also provided.

Abstract: An ambipolar, light-emitting transistor comprising an organic semiconductive layer in contact with an electron injecting electrode and a hole injecting electrode separated by a distance L defining the channel length of the transistor, in which the zone of the organic semiconductive layer from which the light is emitted is located more than L/10 away from both the electron as well as the hole injecting electrode.

Abstract: A method for forming an electronic device having a semiconducting active layer comprising a polymer, the method comprising aligning the chains of the polymer parallel to each other by bringing the polymer into a liquid-crystalline phase.

Abstract: A technique for high-resolution surface energy assisted patterning of semiconductor active layer islands on top of an array of predefined source-drain electrodes without requiring an additional process step for surface energy patterning.

Abstract: A method for forming an organic or partly organic switching device, comprising: depositing layers of conducting, semiconducting, insulating, or surface modifying layers by solution processing and direct printing; and defining high-resolution patterns of these layers by exposure to a focused laser beam.

Abstract: A rectifying diode comprising a semiconducting layer, a first electrode, and a second electrode, wherein the width of the region of closest contact between the two electrodes is on the order of the thickness of the semiconducting layer.