Electrical behavior of amorphous indium–gallium–zinc oxide thin film transistors by embedding Au nanoparticles in the channel layer

We reported the effects on the electrical behavior of amorphous indium–gallium–zinc oxide (a-IGZO) thin film transistors (TFTs) after introducing various positions and sizes of Au nanoparticles (NPs) in the channel layer. These TFTs showed an off-current increase and threshold voltage (V_th) shift compared to conventional a-IGZO TFTs. The effects of Au NPs are explained to form the carrier conduction path which causes the current leakage in the channel layer, and act as either electron injection sites or trap sites. Therefore, this study demonstrates that the optimized control of size and position of Au NPs in the channel layer is crucial for its application in the electrical stability improvement and V_th control of a-IGZO TFTs.     

Performance improvement of amorphous indium–gallium–zinc oxide ReRAM with SiO2 inserting layer

In this study, the resistive switching performance of amorphous indium–gallium–zinc oxide (a-IGZO) resistive switching random-access memory (ReRAM) was improved by inserting a thin silicon oxide layer between silver (Ag) top electrode and a-IGZO resistive switching layer. Compared with the single a-IGZO layer structure, the SiO₂/a-IGZO bi-layer structure exhibits the higher On/Off resistance ratio larger than 10³, and the lower operation power using a smaller SET compliance current. In addition, good endurance and excellent retention characteristics were achieved. Furthermore, multilevel resistance states are obtained through adjusting SET compliance current and RESET stop voltage, which shows a promise for high-performance nonvolatile multilevel memory application.     

Enhancement of the electrical characteristics of indium–zinc tin-oxide thin-film transistors utilizing dual-channel layers

Thin film transistors (TFTs) with indium–zinc tin-oxide (IZTO) dual-channel layers were fabricated on heavily-doped p-type Si substrates by using a tilted dual-target radio-frequency magnetron sputtering system. The number of oxygen vacancies in the IZTO channel layer decreased with increasing oxygen partial pressure, resulting in a decrease in the conductivity. The threshold voltage (V_th) shifted toward positive gate-source voltage with increasing oxygen partial pressure for the growth of the IZTO layer because of a decrease in the carrier concentration. The V_th, the mobility, the on/off-current ratio, and the subthreshold swing of the dual-channel IZTO TFTs were 3.5 V, 7.1 cm²/V s, 1.3 V/decade, and 8.2 × 10⁶, respectively, which was enhanced by utilizing dual-channel layers consisting of a top channel deposited at a high oxygen partial pressure and a bottom channel deposited at a low oxygen partial pressure.     

Improved device reliability in organic light emitting devices by controlling the etching of indium zinc oxide anode

A controllable etching process for indium zinc oxide （IZO） films was developed by using a weak etchant of oxalic acid with a slow etching ratio. With controllable etching time and temperature, a patterned IZO electrode with smoothed surface morphology and slope edge was achieved. For the practical application in organic light emitting devices （OLEDs）, a sup- pression of the leak current in the current-voltage characteristics of OLEDs was observed. It resulted in a 1.6 times longer half lifetime in the IZO-based OLEDs compared to that using an indium tin oxide （ITO） anode etched by a conventional strong etchant of aqua regia.     

Sol–gel synthesized powder and pulsed laser deposited film of amorphous indium zinc oxides doped with Fe

Chemical co-precipitation method was used to synthesize nano-structured α-Fe₂O₃-CeO₂ composite by calcination of the goethite–cerium hydroxide precursor. It was observed that the precursor contained goethite matrix doped with cerium. Calcination of the precursor at 400°C showed the formation of nanosize hematite. Mössbauer spectra show the presence of a paramagnetic component in the precursor but not in the samples calcined at 400°C to 800°C temperatures. Our study shows that Ce precipitated as CeO₂ and stuck on the surface of hematite particles. The precipitation of Ce as CeO₂ is independent of the concentration of Ce in the Ce–Fe–O composite.     

III–V on silicon: Observation of gallium phosphide anti-phase disorder by low-energy electron microscopy

The formation of anti-phase disorder is a major obstacle in the heteroepitaxy of III–V semiconductors on silicon. For an investigation of the anti-phase domain (APD) structure of GaP/Si(100) samples on mesoscopic length scales, we applied dark-field imaging in a low-energy electron microscope (LEEM) to thin GaP films grown on Si(100) substrates by metal organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE). A contamination-free transfer of the samples from the MOVPE ambient to the ultra-high vacuum chamber of the microscope ensured that the atomically well-ordered, P-rich (2 × 2)/c(4 × 2) reconstruction of the surface was preserved. Mutually perpendicular oriented domains of the characteristic GaP(100) reconstruction identify the APDs in the GaP film at the surface and enabled us to achieve high contrast LEEM images. Striped patterns of APDs reflect the regular terrasse structure of the two-domain Si(100)(2 × 1) substrate far away from defects. APDs in the proximity of the defects have larger lateral extensions and are arranged in target pattern-like structures around the defects. In contrast to transmission electron microscopy, which was also applied in a specific dark-field mode for comparison, the characterization of anti-phase disorder by LEEM is non-destructive, does not require elaborate sample preparation, and addresses extended length scales.     

Intensification of corrosion resistance of 2 K epoxy coating by encapsulation of liquid inhibitor in nanocontainer core of sodium zinc molybdate and iron oxide

A unique approach for the synthesis of an iron oxide-blended sodium zinc molybdate nanocontainer using an ultrasound-assisted method and its application for 2?K epoxy polyamide nanocomposite coatings has been presented. Sodium zinc molybdate blended with iron oxide was used as the core of the nanocontainer and layer-by-layer assembly of oppositely charged species of polyelectrolyte and inhibitor was made over this core of nanoparticles. The release of imidazole from iron oxide-blended sodium zinc molybdate nanocontainer has been quantitatively evaluated in water at different pH. It has been observed that imidazole plays a major role in the release profile of polyelectrolyte-modified nanocontainer and deciding the corrosion inhibition characteristics. Addition of 4 wt% nanocontainer in coatings results in shifting of corrosion potential (E_corr) value towards positive direction. The maximum concentration of imidazole released at the end of 1?h was found to be 0.545?mg?L^?1/g of nanocontainer at pH of 10. The results of corrosion rate analysis, Tafel plots and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy studies of an iron oxide-blended sodium zinc molybdate nanocontainer-based coatings indicated better inhibition performance compared with neat coating.     

Magnetic resonance spectroscopy of hydrogen shallow donors in aluminum-doped zinc oxide prepared by sol–gel processing

Hydrogen shallow donors in sol–gel-prepared pristine and Al-doped ZnO systems have been investigated by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements. It is shown that the hydrogen shallow donors in the Al-doped ZnO system mostly occupy the interstitial sites as in the case of the pristine ZnO system. Our high-resolution NMR measurements sensitively reflected the slightly distinct lattice environments in the pristine and Al-doped ZnO systems.     

Growth stages of YSZ-buffer layers and YBa2Cu3O7−x thin films on silicon substrates studied by scanning probe microscopy

Scanning probe microscopy has been applied to study various growth stages of YSZ (yttria-stabilized zirconia) buffer layers on silicon and of YBa₂Cu₃O_7–x thin films on YSZ/Si. YSZ buffer layers of 75 nm thickness exhibit a remarkable smooth surface with a rms roughness of about 0.5 nm for a surface area of 5 m×5 m. The subsequent growth of YBa₂Cu₃O_7–x thin films was investigated from nucleation to the formation of growth hills. Screw dislocations were found only in very rare cases.     

Preferential regrowth of indium–tin oxide (ITO) films deposited on GaN (0001) by rf-magnetron sputter

Effects of thermal treatments on the electrical properties and microstructures of indium–tin oxide (ITO)/GaN contacts have been investigated using a rf-magnetron sputter deposition followed by rapid thermal annealing. ITO films annealed at 800 °C revealed Schottky contact characteristics with a barrier height corresponding to ITO’s work function of 4.62 eV. The evolution of electrical properties of ITO/GaN contacts was attributed to the preferential regrowth of In₂O₃ (222)//GaN (0001) with an ideal metal–semiconductor Schottky contact. The feasible use of ITO/GaN as a transparent Schottky contact would be realized by the enhanced regrowth of In₂O₃ at high temperature. Received: 1 September 2000 / Accepted: 15 November 2000 / Published online: 28 February 2001     

Migration of indium ions in amorphous indium-gallium-zinc-oxide thin film transistors

Electromigration of In in amorphous indium-gallium-zinc-oxide thin film transistors under repeated switching operation was investigated by analyzing the distribution of component elements. During the repeated switching operations up to 300 times, threshold voltage of this device increased gradually implying alteration to the internal device structures. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy revealed noticeable redistribution of metallic components, especially In, in the channel layer beneath the source electrode during switching operations by the migration of metallic ions away from the source electrode, which is attributed to electromigrations similar to those observed in organic light emitting diodes having indium tin oxide electrodes.     

Degradation and its fast recovery in a-IGZO thin-film transistors under negative gate bias stress

A new type of degradation phenomena featured with increased subthreshold swing and threshold voltage after negative gate bias stress (NBS) is observed for amorphous InGaZnO (a-IGZO) thin-film transistors (TFTs), which can recover in a short time. After comparing with the degradation phenomena under negative bias illumination stress (NBIS), positive bias stress (PBS), and positive bias illumination stress (PBIS), degradation mechanisms under NBS is proposed to be the generation of singly charged oxygen vacancies ($V_{\mathrm{o}}^{+}$) in addition to the commonly reported doubly charged oxygen vacancies ($V_{\mathrm{o}}^{2+}$). Furthermore, the NBS degradation phenomena can only be observed when the transfer curves after NBS are measured from the negative gate bias to the positive gate bias direction due to the fast recovery of $V_{\mathrm{o}}^{+}$ under positive gate bias. The proposed degradation mechanisms are verified by TCAD simulation.     

低温透明非晶IGZO薄膜晶体管的光照稳定性

采用室温射频磁控溅射非晶铟镓锌氧化合物(a-IGZO), 在相对低的温度(<200 ℃)下成功制备底栅a-IGZO 薄膜晶体管器件, 其场效应迁移率10 cm^-2·V^-1·s^-1, 开关比大于10⁷, 亚阈值摆幅 SS为0.4 V/dec, 阈值电压为3.6 V. 栅电压正向和负向扫描未发现电滞现象. 白光发光二极管光照对器件的输出特性基本没有影响, 表明制备的器件可用于透明显示器件. 研究了器件的光照稳定性, 光照10000 s后器件阈值电压负向偏移约0.8 V, 这种漂移是由于界面电荷束缚所致. 关键词： 非晶铟镓锌氧化合物 薄膜晶体管 光照稳定性 电滞现象     

Top-gate amorphous IGZO thin-film transistors with a SiO buffer layer inserted between active channel layer and gate insulator

In this paper, top-gate thin-film transistors (TFTs) using amorphous In-Ga-Zn-O as the n-channel active layer and SiO₂ as gate insulator were fabricated by radio frequency magnetron sputtering at room temperature. In this device, a SiO layer was used to be a buffer layer between active layer and gate insulator for preventing the damage of the InGaZnO surface by the process of sputtering SiO₂ with relatively high sputtering power. The thickness of buffer layers was studied and optimized for enhancing the TFTs performances. Contrasting to the TFTs without buffer layer, the optimized thickness of 10 nm SiO buffer layer improved the top-gate TFTs performances greatly: mobility increases 30%, reached 1.29 cm²/V s, the I_on/I_off ratio increases 3 orders, and the trap density at the interface of channel/insulator decreases about 1 order, indicated that the improvement of semiconductor/dielectric interface by buffering the sputtering power.     

非晶硅薄膜太阳能电池的紫外激光刻蚀工艺

为提高电池的光电转换效率,通过改善激光刻蚀工艺,采用355 nm紫外纳秒激光分别进行了ZnO：Al薄膜（AZO）刻蚀（P1）、非晶硅薄膜（-Si）刻蚀（P2）和背电极刻蚀（P3）研究。采用万用表测量P1隔离电阻,采用电子扫描显微镜（SEM）和三维激光扫描仪测量刻槽的微结构和三维成像,激光拉曼散射光谱检测非晶硅薄膜刻蚀边缘的晶化。实验结果表明,当刻蚀速度600 mm/s,重复频率40 kHz,功率1.74 W的紫外激光刻蚀ZnO：Al薄膜时,刻槽的隔离效果最佳,达20 M; 紫外激光刻蚀能够有效地减小激光热效应引起的热影响和刻槽边缘的晶化范围,提高非晶硅薄膜电池的性能。     

Research on the electrical characteristics of an organic thin-film field-effect transistor based on alternating-current resistance

In this article, an organic thin-film field-effect transistor (OTFFET) with top-gate and bottom-contact geometry based on pentacene as the active layer is fabricated. The experimental data of the I-V are obtained from the OTFFET device. The alternating-current (AC) resistance value of the OTFFET device is calculated using the derivation method from the experimental data, and the AC resistance trend curves of the OTFFET device are obtained with the region fitting method. We analyse the characteristics of the OTFFET device with an AC resistance trend curve. To discover whether it has a high resistance, it is proposed to judge the region of the source/drain voltage (V_DS) less than the transition voltage, thereby determining whether the contact between the metal electrode and the organic semiconductor layer of the OTFFET device is Ohmic or non-Ohmic. The theoretical analysis shows that the field-effect mobility and the AC resistance are in reverse proportion. Therefore, we point out that reducing AC resistance is necessary if field-effect mobility is to be improved.     

Extraction of density-of-states in amorphous InGaZnO thin-film transistors from temperature stress studies

The instability of amorphous InGaZnO (a-IGZO) thin-film transistors (TFTs) with different active layer thicknesses under temperature stress has been investigated through using the density-of-states (DOS). Interestingly, the a-IGZO TFT with 22 nm active layer thickness showed a better stability than the others, which was observed from the decrease of interfacial and semiconductor bulk trap densities. The DOS was calculated based on the experimentally-obtained activation energy (E_A), which can explain the experimental observations. We developed the high-performance Al₂O₃ TFT with 22 nm IGZO channel layer (a high mobility of 7.4 cm²/V, a small threshold voltage of 2.8 V, a high I_on/I_off 1.8 × 10⁷, and a small SS of 0.16 V/dec), which can be used as driving devices in the next-generation flat panel displays.     

Review of flexible and transparent thin-film transistors based on zinc oxide and related materials

Flexible and transparent electronics enters into a new era of electronic technologies.Ubiquitous applications involve wearable electronics,biosensors,flexible transparent displays,radio-frequency identifications(RFIDs),etc.Zinc oxide(ZnO) and relevant materials are the most commonly used inorganic semiconductors in flexible and transparent devices,owing to their high electrical performances,together with low processing temperatures and good optical transparencies.In this paper,we review recent advances in flexible and transparent thin-film transistors(TFTs) based on ZnO and relevant materials.After a brief introduction,the main progress of the preparation of each component(substrate,electrodes,channel and dielectrics) is summarized and discussed.Then,the effect of mechanical bending on electrical performance is highlighted.Finally,we suggest the challenges and opportunities in future investigations.     

Enhanced contact properties of spray-coated AgNWs source and drain electrodes in oxide thin-film transistors

Facile patterning of electrodes is required for various electronic applications, particularly in solution-processed oxide thin-film transistors (TFTs). In this study, source and drain electrodes were prepared from silver nanowires (AgNWs) using spray-coating and hot press techniques. Although spray coating allowed production of AgNW patterns, which could function as electrodes in oxide TFT, the as-sprayed films did not provide a sufficient physical contact with oxide semiconductors and formed interspaces that impeded electron injection. At the same time, hot press technique produced denser AgNW networks that had a tight contact with the oxide semiconductors. As a result, hot-pressed films were considered as satisfactory source and drain electrodes for high-performance oxide TFTs, as they provided an easy electron injection. Finally, the prepared oxide TFTs with hot-pressed AgNW electrodes exhibited average field-effect mobility of 4.75 ± 1.5 cm²/V, significantly higher than that of the TFTs with as-sprayed AgNW electrodes (0.08 ± 0.05 cm²/V).     

基于P掺杂SiO2为栅介质的超低压侧栅薄膜晶体管

在室温下利用等离子体增强化学气相沉积法(PECVD)制备的颗粒膜P掺杂SiO₂为栅介质, 使用磁控溅射方法利用一步掩模法制备出一种新型结构的侧栅薄膜晶体管. 由于侧栅薄膜晶体管具有独特的结构, 在射频磁控溅射过程中, 仅仅利用一块镍掩模板, 无需复杂的光刻步骤, 就可同时沉积出氧化铟锡(ITO)源、漏、栅电极和沟道, 因此, 这种方法极大地简化了制备流程, 降低了工艺成本. 实验结果表明, 在P掺杂SiO₂栅介质层与沟道层界面处形成了超大的双电层电容(8 μF/cm²), 这使得这类晶体管具有超低的工作电压1 V, 小的亚阈值摆幅82 mV/dec、高的迁移率18.35 cm²/V·s和大的开关电流比1.1×10⁶. 因此, 这种P掺杂SiO₂双电层超低压薄膜晶体管将有望应用于低能耗便携式电子产品以及新型传感器领域. 关键词： 2')" href="#">P掺杂SiO₂ 侧栅薄膜晶体管 双电层(EDL) 超低压