Solution-processable ordered defect compound semiconductors for high-performance electronics

Solution-processable semiconductors hold promise in enabling applications requiring cost-effective electronics at scale but suffer from low performance limited by defects. We show that ordered defect compound semiconductor CuIn₅Se₈, which forms regular defect complexes with defect-pair compensation, can simultaneously achieve high performance and solution processability. CuIn₅Se₈ transistors exhibit defect-tolerant, band-like transport supplying an output current above 35 microamperes per micrometer, with a large on/off ratio greater than 10⁶, a small subthreshold swing of 189 ± 21 millivolts per decade, and a high field-effect mobility of 58 ± 10 square centimeters per volt per second, with excellent uniformity and stability, superior to devices built on its less defective parent compound CuInSe₂, analogous binary compound In₂Se₃, and other solution-deposited semiconductors. They can be monolithically integrated with carbon nanotube transistors to form high-speed and low-voltage three-dimensional complementary logic circuits and with micro-light-emitting diodes to realize high-resolution displays.