scholarly journals Thermal Damage-Free Microwave Annealing with Efficient Energy Conversion for Fabricating of High-Performance a-IGZO Thin-Film Transistors on Flexible Substrates

Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (10) ◽  
pp. 2630
Author(s):  
Ki-Woong Park ◽  
Won-Ju Cho
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Energy Conversion ◽  
Thin Film Transistors ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Thermal Damage ◽  
Process Condition ◽  
Electrical Performance ◽  
Resistive Load ◽  
Efficient Energy ◽  
Microwave Annealing

In this study, we applied microwave annealing (MWA) to fabricate amorphous In-Ga-Zn-O (a-IGZO) thin-film transistors (TFTs) without thermal damage to flexible polyimide (PI) substrates. Microwave energy is highly efficient for selective heating of materials when compared to conventional thermal annealing (CTA). We applied MWA and CTA to a-IGZO TFTs on PI substrate to evaluate the thermal damage to the substrates. While the PI substrate did not suffer thermal damage even at a high power in MWA, it suffered severe damage at high temperatures in CTA. Moreover, a-IGZO TFTs were prepared by MWA at 600 W for 2 min, whereas the same process using CTA required 30 min at a temperature of 300 °C, which is a maximum process condition in CTA without thermal damage to the PI substrate. Hence, MWA TFTs have superior electrical performance when compared to CTA TFTs, because traps/defects are effectively eliminated. Through instability evaluation, it was found that MWA TFTs were more stable than CTA TFTs against gate bias stress at various temperatures. Moreover, an MWA TFT-constructed resistive load inverter exhibited better static and dynamic characteristics than the CTA TFT-constructed one. Therefore, MWA is a promising thermal process with efficient energy conversion that allows the fabrication of high-performance electronic devices.

A Study on the Mechanical Stability of a-IGZO Based Inverter

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Byung-Jae Kim ◽  
Youn-Jea Kim
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Thin Film Transistors ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Mechanical Characteristics ◽  
Mechanical Stability ◽  
Electrical Performance ◽  
Oxide Semiconductors ◽  
Transparent Oxide ◽  
Transparent Oxide Semiconductors ◽  
Amorphous Ingazno

Amorphous InGaZnO (a-IGZO) thin film transistors (TFTs) are high performance transparent oxide semiconductors (TOS) that are attractive alternatives to poly-Si TFTs, because they provide better uniformity in terms of device characteristics, such as the threshold voltage and mobility. However, the electrical performance of flexible TFTs should have mechanical robustness against substrate bending and stretching without resultant changes. In this regard, many researchers have focused on improving mechanical stability as well as electrical performance of TFTs, such as elasticity and durability under artificial conditions. In this paper, the mechanical characteristics of an a-IGZO based inverters were numerically investigated. The results were graphically depicted when the device was bent by a total of 10% of its length in the x-axis. The mechanical properties of IGZO were assumed to be similar with the zinc oxide (ZnO).

High Performance Thin Film Transistors (TFTs) of Polycrystalline Silicon Crystallized by the Double Laser Crystallization (DLC) Technique

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Xu ◽  
Costas P. Grigoropoulos
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Thin Film Transistors ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Crystalline Silicon ◽  
Solidification Process ◽  
Electrical Performance ◽  
Laser Crystallization ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Melting And Solidification

Ultra-large grain poly-crystalline silicon has been formed by the double laser crystallization (DLC) method. In-situ images were captured to monitor the transient melting and solidification process in order to understand the crystallization induced by steep laser intensity gradients. SEM (scanning electron microscope) images of crystallized film after Secco etch revealed grain size up to 10μm. High performance thin film transistors (TFTs) were fabricated on the DLC-made poly-crystalline material. The highly localized crystal growth and well-defined orientation allowed precise definition of channels on large grains. The electrical performance of the fabricated devices was studied, indicating a field-effect mobility in the saturation range of undoped channel of 124 cm2/V.sec, threshold voltage of 0.2V and on-off current ratio of 1E8 for n-type devices.

Effect of Simplified-Single-Step Microwave Annealing in O2 Ambient for High Performance Solution-Processed In–Ga–Zn–O Thin Film Transistors

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (7) ◽  
pp. 4163-4169
Author(s):  
Seong-Kun Cho ◽  
Won-Ju Cho
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Electrical Properties ◽  
Thin Film Transistors ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Single Step ◽  
Solution Processed ◽  
Thermal Budget ◽  
Microwave Annealing ◽  
Low Thermal Budget

In this study, we propose a simplified-single-step microwave annealing (S3-MWA) technique in an O2 ambient, which is a low thermal budget heat treatment method, for the application in solutionprocessed amorphous indium-gallium-zinc oxide (a-IGZO) thin films. For the application of solutionprocessed a-IGZO films in electronic devices, a multi-step post deposition annealing (PDA) process, which involves baking at low temperatures to vaporize the solvent, and high temperature conventional thermal annealing to remove defects in the film, is essential. To simplify the multi-step PDA process, we studied the possibility of reducing the thermal process temperature and time by replacing it with a single-step PDA process using microwave equipment. The electrical properties were compared to investigate the effect of the annealing method and ambient on solution-processed a-IGZO thin film transistors (TFTs). As a result, the S3-MWA-processed a-IGZO TFTs were found to exhibit superior electrical characteristics in comparison with the conventional PDA-processed devices. It was found that the O2 ambient process not only shortened the annealing time of S3-MWA but also improved the electrical properties. Furthermore, the S3-MWA was superior to the conventional PDA in the evaluation of device reliability under a gate bias stress test. The S3-MWA process in the O2 ambient was also responsible for improving the reliability of solution-processed a-IGZO TFTs. Therefore, we confirmed that the proposed S3-MWA in the O2 ambient is a more effective and promising technique than conventional PDA for the low thermal budget treatment of solution-processed a-IGZO TFTs.

scholarly journals Recent Advances of Solution-Processed Heterojunction Oxide Thin-Film Transistors

Nanomaterials ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 965
Author(s):  
Yanwei Li ◽  
Chun Zhao ◽  
Deliang Zhu ◽  
Peijiang Cao ◽  
Shun Han ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Thin Film Transistors ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Oxide Thin Film ◽  
Electrical Performance ◽  
Solution Processed ◽  
Recent Advances ◽  
Oxide Tfts

Thin-film transistors (TFTs) made of metal oxide semiconductors are now increasingly used in flat-panel displays. Metal oxides are mainly fabricated via vacuum-based technologies, but solution approaches are of great interest due to the advantages of low-cost and high-throughput manufacturing. Unfortunately, solution-processed oxide TFTs suffer from relatively poor electrical performance, hindering further development. Recent studies suggest that this issue could be solved by introducing a novel heterojunction strategy. This article reviews the recent advances in solution-processed heterojunction oxide TFTs, with a specific focus on the latest developments over the past five years. Two of the most prominent advantages of heterostructure oxide TFTs are discussed, namely electrical-property modulation and mobility enhancement by forming 2D electron gas. It is expected that this review will manifest the strong potential of solution-based heterojunction oxide TFTs towards high performance and large-scale electronics.

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