US Patent 7198885 Circuit fabrication method

A thin film circuit is fabricated using a lithographic technique in combination with an inkjet printing technique. The lithographic technique, providing extremely high resolution, is used to fabricate transistor source and drain electrodes, parts of interconnections and circuit electrodes, enabling highly conductive materials to be used. Semiconductor regions, insulator regions, gate electrodes and other parts of the interconnections, and in particular interconnection cross-over points, are patterned using an inkjet printing technique. A variety of materials can be used in the inkjet printing technique and the alignment concerns associated with the use of multiple lithographic steps and, in particular, with the use of plastics substrates, are substantially alleviated.