Room temperature fabrication Oxide TFT with Y2O3 as a gate oxide and Mo contact

In this investigation, an operating voltage as low as 5 V has been achieved for Oxide TFT with Y₂O₃ as a gate oxide and a-IGZO as an active layer. The OTFT has been fabricated at room temperature using RF sputter. The mobility and threshold voltages are 11.3 cm²/V s and 3.4 V for the device with W/L = 0.8, respectively. The annealing at 400 °C in N₂ containing 5% H₂ ambient has been utilized to improve the electrical performance of TFT. The on-off current which is determined by gate dielectric has been observed to be 10⁴. It has also been observed that the dielectric properties of gate oxide deteriorate on annealing. The dielectric constant of Y₂O₃ is observed in the range between 5.1 and 5.4 measured on various devices.     

Ultra‐high long‐term stability of oxide‐TTFTs under current stress

In this letter the stability of transparent thin‐film transistors (TTFTs) based on the ZnO–SnO₂ (ZTO) material system is investigated. Bottom‐gate devices have been subject to electrical stress via a gate–source bias of 10 V and a drain‐source bias of 10 V leading to a drain–source current of 188 µA. In optimized TTFTs with a composition of [Zn]:[Sn] = 36:64 the relative change of the saturated field effect mobility was less than 1% and the threshold voltage shift was about 320 mV after 1000 hours of operation. This extraordinary stability of ZTO TTFTs underlines their suitability as drivers in active matrix OLED displays. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Switching Characteristics of Phase Change Memory Cell Integrated with Metal-Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor

A Ge2Sb2Te5 based phase change memory device cell integrated with metal-oxide semiconductor field effect transistor （MOSFET） is fabricated using standard 0.18 #m complementary metM-oxide semiconductor process technology. It shows steady switching characteristics in the dc current-voltage measurement. The phase changing phenomenon from crystalline state to amorphous state with a voltage pulse altitude of 2.0 V and pulse width of 50ns is also obtained. These results show the feasibility of integrating phase change memory cell with MOSFET.     

Stability of polymer thin-film transistors based on poly(2-methoxy-5-(2′-ethyl-hexyloxy)-1,4-phenylene vinylene)

Polymer thin-film transistors (PTFTs) based on poly(2-methoxy-5-(2′-ethyl-hexyloxy)-1,4-phenylene vinylene) (MEH-PPV) semiconductor are fabricated by spin-coating process and characterized. In the experiments, solution preparation, deposition and device measurements are all performed in air for large-area applications. Hysteresis effect and gate-bias stress effect are observed for the devices at room temperature. The saturation current decreases and the threshold voltage shifts toward the negative direction upon gate-bias stress, but carrier mobility hardly changes. By using quasi-static C-V analysis for MOS capacitor structure, it can be deduced that the origin of threshold-voltage shift upon negative gate-bias stress is predominantly associated with hole trapping within the SiO₂ gate dielectric near the SiO₂/MEH-PPV interface due to hot-carrier emission.     

Electrical Characteristics of Copper Phthalocyanine Thin-Film Transistors with Polyamide-6/Polytetrafluoroethylene Gate Insulator

Polyamide-6（PA 6）/polytetrafluoroethylene is studied as a potential gate dielectric for flexible organic thin film transistors. The same method used for the formation of organic semiconductor and gate dielectric films greatly simplifies the fabrication process of devices. The fabricated transistors show good electrical characteristics. Ambipolar behaviour is observed even when the device is operated in air.     

Hall effect in a GdBa2Cu3O7−δ/La0.75Sr0.25MnO3 perovskite bilayer

We present results on the Hall coefficient R_H in the normal state for a GdBa₂Cu₃O_7−δ/La_0.75Sr_0.25MnO₃ bilayer and a La_0.75Sr_0.25MnO₃ film grown by dc magnetron sputtering on (1 0 0) SrTiO₃. We find that the electric transport on the bilayer can be qualitatively described using a simple parallel layers model. The GdBa₂Cu₃O_7−δ layer presents a carrier density approximately equal to that reported for 7 − δ = 6.85 oxygen doping. Also we observe an unexpected presence of two Hall resistivity regimes, effects that may be associated with the internal magnetic field induced on the superconducting layer by the ferromagnetic layer.     

Oxygen plasma and high pressure H<Subscript>2</Subscript>O vapor heat treatments used to fabricate polycrystalline silicon thin film transistors

Oxygen plasma and high pressure H₂O vapor heat treatment were applied to fabrication of n-channel polycrystalline silicon thin film transistors (poly-Si TFTs). 13.56 MHz-oxygen-plasma treatment at 250 °C, 100 W for 5 min effectively reduced defect states of 25-nm-thick silicon films crystallized by 30 ns-pulsed XeCl excimer laser irradiation. 1.3×10⁶-Pa-H₂O vapor heat treatment at 260 °C for 3 h was carried out in order to improve electrical properties of SiO_x gate insulators and SiO_x/Si interfaces. A carrier mobility of 470 cm²/V s and a low threshold voltage of 1.8 V were achieved for TFTs fabricated with crystallization at 285 mJ/cm². Received: 18 November 2002 / Accepted: 25 November 2002 / Published online: 11 April 2003 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +81-42/388-7109, E-mail: tsamesim@cc.tuat.ac.jp     

A Physics-Based Compact Direct-Current and Alternating-Current Model for AlGaN/GaN High Electron Mobility Transistors

A set of analytical models for the dc and small signal characteristics of AIGaN/GaN high electron mobility transis- tors （HEMTs） are presented. A modified transferred-electron mobility model is adapted and a phenomenological low-field mobility model is developed. We calculate the channel charge considering the neutralization of donors and the contribution of free electrons in the AlGaN layer. The gate-to-source and gate-to-drain capacitances are obtained analytically, and the cut-off frequency is predicted. The models are implemented into the HSPICE simulator for the dc, ac and transient simulations and verified by experimental data for the first time. A high efficiency class-E GaN HEMT power amplifier is designed and simulated by the HSPICE to verify the applicability of our models.     

Barrier Enhancement Effect of Postannealing in Oxygen Ambient on Ni/AIGaN Schottky Contacts

Al0.2 Ga0.8N/GaN samples are grown by metalorganic chemical vapour deposition （MOCVD） method on （0001） sapphire substrates. A 10nm-thick Ni layer is deposited on AlGaN as the transparent Schottky contact. The effect of postannealing in oxygen ambient on the electrical properties of Ni/AlGaN is studied by current-voltage- temperature （I-V-T） measurement. The annealing at a relatively low temperature of 300℃ for 90 s results in a decrease of the ideality factor from 2.03 to 1.30 and an increase of the Schottky barrier height from 0.77eV to 0.954 e V. The I-V-T analysis confirms the improvement originated from the formation of NiO, a layer with higher resistance, which could passivate the surface states of AlGaN and suppress the tunnelling current. Furthermore, the annealing also leads to an increase of the transmittance of the contacts from 57.5% to 78.2%, which would be favourable for A1GaN-based photodetectors.     

GaN MOS-HEMT Using Ultra-Thin A1203 Dielectric Grown by Atomic Layer Deposition

We report a GaN metal-oxide-semiconductor high electron mobility transistor （MOS-HEMT） with atomic layer deposited （ALD） Al2O3 gate dielectric. Based on the previous work [Appl. Phys. Lett. 86 （2005） 063501] of Ye et al. by decreasing the thickness of the gate oxide to 3.5nm and optimizing the device fabrication process, the device with maximum transconductance of 150mS/mm is produced and discussed in comparison with the result of lOOmS/mm of Ye et al. The corresponding drain current density in the 0.8-μm-gate-length MOS-HEMT is 800mA/mm at the gate bias of 3.0 V. The gate leakage is two orders of magnitude lower than that of the conventional A1GaN/GaN HEMT. The excellent characteristics of this novel MOS-HEMT device structure with ALD Al2O3 gate dielectric are presented.     

Nonlinear electrical properties and DC accelerated aging characteristics of ZnO-Pr6O11-CoO-Cr2O3-Dy2O3-based varistors

The nonlinear electrical properties and stability against DC accelerated aging stress of various varistors, which are composed of ZnO-Pr₆O₁₁-CoO-Cr₂O₃-Dy₂O₃ (ZPCCD)-based ceramics, was investigated as a function of Dy₂O₃ content. The varistors with Dy₂O₃ exhibited a high nonlinear exponent above 30, compared with that without Dy₂O₃. The varistor with 0.5 mol% Dy₂O₃ exhibited the highest nonlinearity, with a nonlinear exponent of 66.6 and a leakage current of 1.2 μA. Furthermore, this varistor showed the high stability, in which the variation rate of varistor voltage, of nonlinear exponent, and of leakage are −1.9, −10.5, and +275.0%, respectively, under DC accelerated aging stress, 0.95 V_1 mA/150 °C/24 h.     

Miniaturized TEG with thermal generation of free carriers

The rising interest in low temperature heat energy conversion encourages the application of thermoelectric devices. However, conventional thermoelectric devices used in the Seebeck mode as thermoelectric generators have several shortcomings and thus are inefficient when used as a generator. Additionally, the high cost–power ratio of these modules anticipates the commercial success on a broad basis. One way to achieve better suited products is provided by miniaturization of thermoelectric devices in order to enable the use of mass production methods. But in small devices the contact effects become dominant and reduce the efficiency and power density considerably. We show that using pn‐junctions with thermal generation of free carriers offers the possibility to achieve better contact properties and thus higher efficiencies and power densities.

     

Continuous tuning of the threshold voltage of organic thin-film transistors by a chemically reactive interfacial layer

For the design and manufacture of complex integrated circuits, control over the threshold voltage of the transistors is essential. In the present contribution, we present a non-invasive method to tune the threshold voltage of organic thin-film transistors after device assembly over a wide range without any significant degradation of the device characteristics. This is realized by incorporating a thin, chemically reactive siloxane layer bonded to the gate oxide. This results in threshold voltages of around 70 V in the as-prepared devices. By exposing a transistor modified in this way to ammonia at different concentrations, the threshold voltage can be tuned in steps of only a few volts. This treatment affects only the charge density at the semiconductor–dielectric interface, leaving the overall shape of the transistor characteristics and the charge-carrier mobility largely unaltered.     

Nonlinear properties and stability against DC accelerated aging stress of praseodymium oxide-based ZnO varistors by Er2O3 doping

The microstructure, nonlinear properties, and stability against DC accelerated aging stress of ZnO-Pr₆O₁₁-CoO-based varistors doped with Er₂O₃ was investigated at sintering temperatures of 1300 and 1350 °C. The addition of Er₂O₃ to ZnO-Pr₆O₁₁-CoO-based varistor greatly improved the nonlinear properties and the varistor sintered at 1300 °C exhibited good nonlinearity, with nonlinear exponent of 52.8 and leakage current of 9.8 μA The increase of sintering temperature deteriorated the nonlinear properties, whereas it greatly improved the stability.     

Impact of dopants in GaN on the formation of two-dimensional electron gas in AlGaN/GaN heterostructure field-effect transistors

The two-dimensional electron gas distribution in AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors is determined from the solution of the coupled Schr?dinger’s and Poisson’s equations. Considering the piezoelectric effect, the two-dimensional electron gas concentration is calculated to be as high as 7.7×10¹⁹ cm^-3. In order to obtain an understanding of how the two-dimensional electron gas distribution is influenced by dopants in GaN, we observed the two-dimensional electron gas concentration and occupation of sub-bands versus dopant concentration in the GaN layer of an AlGaN/GaN heterostructure. Our results show that the two-dimensional electron gas concentration is slightly increased at higher doping levels in GaN, while the quantum confinement in the AlGaN/GaN heterostructure is weakened with the increase of donor concentration in the GaN layer. Received: 26 May 2001 / Accepted: 23 July 2001 / Published online: 23 January 2002     

Device and performance parameters of Cu(In,Ga)(Se,S)2-based solar cells with varying i-ZnO layer thickness

In pursuit of low-cost and highly efficient thin film solar cells, Cu(In,Ga)(Se,S)₂/CdS/i-ZnO/ZnO:Al (CIGSS) solar cells were fabricated using a two-step process. The thickness of i-ZnO layer was varied from 0 to 454 nm. The current density-voltage (J-V) characteristics of the devices were measured, and the device and performance parameters of the solar cells were obtained from the J-V curves to analyze the effect of varying i-ZnO layer thickness. The device parameters were determined using a parameter extraction method that utilized particle swarm optimization. The method is a curve-fitting routine that employed the two-diode model. The J-V curves of the solar cells were fitted with the model and the parameters were determined. Results show that as the thickness of i-ZnO was increased, the average efficiency and the fill factor (FF) of the solar cells increase. Device parameters reveal that although the series resistance increased with thicker i-ZnO layer, the solar cells absorbed more photons resulting in higher short-circuit current density (J_sc) and, consequently, higher photo-generated current density (J_L). For solar cells with 303-454 nm-thick i-ZnO layer, the best devices achieved efficiency between 15.24% and 15.73% and the fill factor varied between 0.65 and 0.67.     

Electron transport with mobility above 10–3 cm2/Vs in amorphous film of co‐planar bipyridyl‐substituted oxadiazole

We demonstrate that a bipyridyl substituted oxadiazole (Bpy‐OXD) shows high electron mobility that reached above 10^–3 cm²/Vs. We believe that the high mobility results from both the hybrid molecular structure of the two electron‐accepting units: bipyridyl and oxadiazole, and the planar molecular structure based on its lack of sterically hindered bulky substituent. The computational analysis elucidates that the amorphous nature of Bpy‐OXD in thin‐film state probably results from the polymorphic effect in isolated state and the volume effect in solid state. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Performance of Organic Field Effect Transistors with Self-Improved Cu/Organic Interfaces

We fabricate pentacene-based organic field effect transistors （OFETs） with Cu as source and drain （S-D） electrodes. The fabricated devices stored for ten hours under ambient atmospheric conditions exhibit superior performance compared with the as-prepared devices. The field-effect mobility increases from 0. 012 to 0.03 cm^2 V^-1 s^-1, and the threshold voltage downshifts from -14 to -9 V. The on/off current ratios are close to the order of 10^4. The improved performance of the stored devices is attributed to the formation of thin Cu oxide at the Cu electrodes/organic interfaces. These results suggest a simple and available way to optimize device properties and to reduce fabrication cost for OFETs.     

Magnetoquantum transport in a modulated 2D electron gas with spin-orbit interaction

We investigate the effects of spin-orbit interaction (SOI) and plane-perpendicular magnetic field on the conductivity of a two-dimensional electron system in the presence of one-dimensional electrostatic modulation. The calculations are performed when a low-intensity, low-frequency external electric field is applied. The Kubo formula for the conductivity is employed in the calculation. The single-particle eigenstates which depend on the strengths of the magnetic field, the SOI and modulation potential, are calculated and then used to determine the conductivity. We present numerical results for the conductivity along the channels as well as the tunneling conductivity perpendicular to the constrictions as functions of the modulation potential, the SOI and the magnetic field. We demonstrate that the effect of finite frequency is to related to the reduction of both the longitudinal and transverse conductivities.     

Enhancement of carrier mobility in pentacene thin-film transistor on SiO2 by controlling the initial film growth modes

Pentacene thin-film transistors (TFTs) were fabricated on thermally grown SiO₂ gate insulator under the conditions of various pre-cleaning treatments. Initial nucleation and growth of the material films on treated substrates were observed by atomic force microscope. The performance of fabricated TFT devices with different surface cleaning approaches was found to be highly related to the initial film morphologies. In contrast to the three-dimensional island-like growth mode on SiO₂ under an organic cleaning process, a layer-by-layer initial growth occurred on the SiO₂ insulator cleaned with ammonia solution, which was believed to be the origination of the excellent electrical properties of the TFT device. Field effect mobility of the TFT device could achieve as high as 1.0 cm²/Vs on the bared SiO₂/Si substrate and the on/off ratio was over 10⁶.