DNA-directed nanofabrication of high-performance carbon nanotube field-effect transistors

Biofabricated semiconductor arrays exhibit smaller channel pitches than those created using existing lithographic methods. However, the metal ions within biolattices and the submicrometer dimensions of typical biotemplates result in both poor transport performance and a lack of large-area array uniformity. Using DNA-templated parallel carbon nanotube (CNT) arrays as model systems, we developed a rinsing-after-fixing approach to improve the key transport performance metrics by more than a factor of 10 compared with those of previous biotemplated field-effect transistors. We also used spatially confined placement of assembled CNT arrays within polymethyl methacrylate cavities to demonstrate centimeter-scale alignment. At the interface of high-performance electronics and biomolecular self-assembly, such approaches may enable the production of scalable biotemplated electronics that are sensitive to local biological environments.