a-Si:H thin film transistors on rollable 25-μm thick steel foil

We report the first amorphous silicon thin film transistors (TFTs) on flexible, ultra-thin substrates of 25 mu m thick stainless steel foil. The transistors remain operational under convex or concave bending down to 2.5 mm radius of curvature. Taking advantage of the flexibility and resiliency of these devices, we have successfully fabricated TFTs using only xerographic toner masks printed directly on to the steel substrate and using mechanical alignment in the laser printer to obtain the necessary overlay accuracy. The goal of our work is to develop a foldable active-matrix transistor backplane, at low cost and high throughput, for use in highly rugged and portable applications such as foldable intelligent maps. Our results suggest that such foldable backplane circuits are feasible.