A Carbon Nanotube Inkjet-Printed Hybrid Circuit for Non-Conventional Computing

Inkjet-printed technology offers a cost-efficient, low-energy, minimal footprint, and adaptable form of alternative computing. Inkjet-printed sensors and circuits use minimal waste, are often biodegradable and can be revised and/or reprinted in an additive manner. This report introduces a transistor-inspired inkjet-printed element with simulated CMOS hybridization as an early form of a more dynamical and non-linear computing element. Although the presented device has low functionality, the research efforts result in a step toward hybridized electronics that may be used for non-Von Neumann computing. The inkjet printed element was made by layering silver and carbon nanotube nanoparticles on paper and polyethylene terephthalate substrates in a way that mimicks the structure of a transistor. A mathematical modeling of the carbon nanotube element was made in MATLAB, then used in PSpice for analog behavioral modeling. The output was validated and used to design a hybridized linear dynamical circuit. Experimental data and simulation results show these early designs have usefulness in circuits and systems fabrication.