Fast-switching plastic circuit mimics CMOS function

The printed circuit is believed to be the fastest-operating and lowest-power plastic logic oscillator created to date.

The full commercial potential of plastic electronic circuits has been hampered by their lower speed and by the requirement of high supply voltage (of the order of 100V), which means that they are unable to compete with conventional silicon-based electronics especially in off-the-grid applications, which are the most attractive for this technology.

‘Performance advances in organic electronics are driven by a better understanding of the motion of charges in these materials, and also exploring a wider range of structures,’ said Prof Henning Sirringhaus of Cambridge University and co-founder and chief scientist of Plastic Logic, which took part in the research.

‘One of the strengths of this field is that organic chemistry gives you access to a whole plethora of molecular structures and there’s now a better understanding of where to look, and that’s been driving improvements in performance.’