Fully transparent flexible transistors built on metal oxide nanowires

Transparent electronics has attracted great research efforts in recent years due to its potential to make significant impact in many area, such as next generation displays, ultraviolet (UV) detectors, solar cells, charge-coupled devices (CCDs), and so on. Central to the realization of transparent electronics is the development of high performance fully transparent thin-film transistors (TFTs). One-dimensional (1-D) nanostructures have been the focus of current researches due to their unique physical properties and potential applications in nanoscale electronics and optoelectronics. Among 1-D nanostructures, transparent metal oxide nanowires are one of the best candidates to make fully transparent TFTs. We provide in this paper the most recent development on the fabrication of fully transparent TFT using metal oxide nanowires as the device elements. First, the review article gives a general introduction about the development of transparent electronics using different kinds of materials as the devices elements, including organic semiconductors, metal oxide thin films, and metal oxide nanowires. Second, the growth of metal oxide nanowires using vapor phase methods governed by two different growth mechanisms: vaporsolid mechanism and vapor-liquid-solid mechanism, respectively, are described. Third, the fabrication of transparent and flexible TFTs using different metal oxides nanowires is comprehensively described. In conclusion, the challenges and prospects for the future are discussed.