Flexible Lamination-Fabricated Ultra-High Frequency Diodes Based on Self-Supporting Semiconducting Composite Film of Silicon Micro-Particles and Nano-Fibrillated Cellulose

Low cost and flexible devices such as wearable electronics, e-labels and distributed sensors will make the future "internet of things" viable. To power and communicate with such systems, high frequency rectifiers are crucial components. We present a simple method to manufacture flexible diodes, operating at GHz frequencies, based on self-adhesive composite films of silicon micro-particles (Si-mu Ps) and glycerol dispersed in nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC). NFC, Si-mu Ps and glycerol are mixed in a water suspension, forming a self-supporting nanocellulose-silicon composite film after drying. This film is cut and laminated between a flexible pre-patterned Al bottom electrode and a conductive Ni-coated carbon tape top contact. A Schottky junction is established between the Al electrode and the Si-mu Ps. The resulting flexible diodes show current levels on the order of mA for an area of 2 mm(2), a current rectification ratio up to 4 x 10(3) between 1 and 2 V bias and a cut-off frequency of 1.8 GHz. Energy harvesting experiments have been demonstrated using resistors as the load at 900 MHz and 1.8 GHz. The diode stack can be delaminated away from the Al electrode and then later on be transferred and reconfigured to another substrate. This provides us with reconfigurable GHz-operating diode circuits.
Funding Agencies|Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation; Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research; Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Functional Materials at Linkoping University [2009-00971]