Metal Patterning via Arc Etching for Thin Film Electronics

This paper discusses a novel technique for patterning metal thin film for thin film transistor applications. This is a roll to roll compatible patterning technique which involves the formation of an arc discharge between a metal electrode and the metal thin film. The arc discharge results in the etching of metal thin film in a very narrow region. Preliminary studies indicate the formation of etched regions having feature size as small as 30µm at an applied voltage of 100V. Further, a metal-semiconductor-metal structure is fabricated by patterning the metal using both the standard shadow mask method and the proposed arc etching method. A comparison between the current-voltage characteristics in both cases demonstrate the possibility of using arc etching as a source-drain patterning technique suitable for thin film transistors.