Substrate with semiconductor layer, electronic component, electronic circuit, printable composition and method for production thereof

1. An electronic component comprising:

two semiconducting layers, each of said layers consisting of an inert matrix material embedding an inorganic semiconducting material in particle form, wherein the inorganic semiconducting material in one layer differs from the inorganic semiconducting material in the other layer in having a different conductivity type doping and/or a different doping concentration of the same conductivity type, forming a semiconductor junction between the two semiconductor layers due to the different conductivity type doping and/or the different doping concentration of the same conductivity type in the two layers.

2. The electronic component as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising selection of the inorganic semiconducting material from the group consisting of silicon, silicon carbide, germanium, gallium arsenide, gallium nitride, indium phosphide, and cadmium selenide.

3. The electronic component as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising the inorganic semiconducting material having a particle size of between 100 μm and 10 nm.

4. The electronic component as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising the semiconducting layer having an inorganic semiconducting material content of from 20 to 90% by volume, based on its total volume.

5. The electronic component as claimed in one of claims 1 to 4 , further comprising the matrix material being selected from the group consisting of: an organic polymer, an inorganic material, and a mixture of an organic polymer and an inorganic material.

6. The electronic component as claimed in claim 5 , further comprising selecting the organic polymer from the group consisting of epoxy resins, acrylates, polyimides, polybenzoxazoles, polystyrene and polyalkylenes.

7. The electronic component as claimed in claim 5 , further comprising the inorganic matrix material being an inorganic ceramic material.

8. The electronic component as claimed in claim 1 , in which the matrix material also includes a semiconducting organic material.

9. The electronic component as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising a substrate material selected from the group consisting of paper, plastic films, ceramics, glass, silica gel plates, also metal, plastic-coated metal, indium tin oxide, electrically conducting and electrically semiconducting substrate materials.

10. The electronic component as claimed in claim 1 , in which the component is a diode or transistor.

11. The electronic component as claimed in claim 10 , wherein the component is a transistor in which the source region, the drain region and the channel region of the transistor are each formed by a semiconducting layer which includes an inert matrix material in which an inorganic semiconducting material is embedded in particle form.

12. An electronic circuit having at least one electronic component as claimed in claim 1 .

13. A process for fabricating an electronic component, the process comprises:

forming two semiconducting layers, each of said layers consisting of an inert matrix material embedding an inorganic semiconducting material in particle form, wherein the inorganic semiconducting material in one layer differs from the inorganic semiconducting material in the other layer in having a different conductivity type doping and/or a different doping concentration of the same conductivity type, forming a semiconductor junction between the two semiconductor layers due to the different conductivity type doping and/or the different doping concentration of the same conductivity type in the two layers.

14. The process as claimed in claim 13 , further comprising in suspending the inorganic semiconducting material in the inert matrix material until a homogeneous suspension has formed; and applying the suspension which contains the matrix material to a substrate material.

15. The process as claimed in claim 14 , further comprising in providing the inert matrix material in a liquid; and suspending the inorganic semiconducting material in the liquid.

16. The process as claimed in claim 15 , further comprising dissolving the inert matrix material in the liquid.

17. The process as claimed in claim 15 , further comprising suspending the inert matrix material in the liquid.

18. The process as claimed in one of claims 15 to 17 , in which the liquid is selected from the group consisting of an aqueous liquid, an organic liquid, a mixture of at least two organic liquids, and a mixture of aqueous and organic liquid.

19. The process as claimed in claim 15 , further comprising transferring the mixture or suspension to a suitable printing or spraying device.

20. The process as claimed in claim 15 , further comprising removing the liquid which contains the matrix material.

21. The process as claimed in claim 20 , further comprising removing the liquid by means of IR irradiation and drying in vacuo.

22. The process as claimed in claim 21 , further comprising solidifying the inert matrix material, wherein the inert matrix material is an organic polymer by curing.

23. The process as claimed in claim 13 , further comprising the inorganic semiconducting material having a particle size of between 100 μm and 10 nm.

24. The process as claimed in claim 13 , further comprising providing a substrate material, wherein the substrate material is selected from the group consisting of paper, plastic films, ceramics, glass, silica gel plates, also metal, plastic-coated metal, indium tin oxide, electrically conducting and electrically semiconducting substrate materials.

25. The process as claimed in claim 13 , further comprising applying the inorganic semiconducting material embedded in the matrix material to a substrate by means of a printing process.

26. The process as claimed in claim 25 , in which the printing process used is selected from the group consisting of pad printing, screen printing, stencil printing, inkjet printing, offset printing and laser printing.

27. The process as claimed in claim 13 , wherein the step of providing the inorganic semiconducting material in particle form embedded in the inert matrix material, comprises:

suspending the inorganic semiconducting material in the inert matrix material until a homogeneous suspension has formed, in which the semiconducting inorganic material is embedded in the matrix material.