Self-Assembling Transistors
Organic materials crystallize on a flexible chip for high-performance electronics

Source: "Contact-Induced Crystallinity for High-Performance Soluble Acene-Based Transistors and Circuits"
David Gundlach et al.
Nature Materials 7: 216-221

Results: Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Penn State University, and the University of Kentucky have developed a chemical process that helps molecules of an organic semiconductor form transistors on a flexible electronic chip. The molecules crystallize only in the areas between electrical contacts, bridging the gaps between them. In other areas, the organic semiconductor does not crystallize, instead acting as an electrical insulator that prevents unwanted cross talk between transistors.