Multiferroic materials, which show simultaneous ferroelectric and magnetic ordering, exhibit unusual physical properties — and in turn promise new device applications — as a result of the coupling between their dual order parameters. We review recent progress in the growth, characterization and understanding of thin-film multiferroics. The availability of high-quality thin-film multiferroics makes it easier to tailor their properties through epitaxial strain, atomic-level engineering of chemistry and interfacial coupling, and is a prerequisite for their incorporation into practical devices. We discuss novel device paradigms based on magnetoelectric coupling, and outline the key scientific challenges in the field.

Multiferroics: progress and prospects in thin films.

Transparent electronics is today one of the most advanced topics for a wide range of device applications. The key components are wide bandgap semiconductors, where oxides of different origins play an important role, not only as passive component but also as active component, similar to what is observed in conventional semiconductors like silicon. Transparent electronics has gained special attention during the last few years and is today established as one of the most promising technologies for leading the next generation of flat panel display due to its excellent electronic performance. In this paper the recent progress in n- and p-type oxide based thin-film transistors (TFT) is reviewed, with special emphasis on solution-processed and p-type, and the major milestones already achieved with this emerging and very promising technology are summarizeed. After a short introduction where the main advantages of these semiconductors are presented, as well as the industry expectations, the beautiful history of TFTs is revisited, including the main landmarks in the last 80 years, finishing by referring to some papers that have played an important role in shaping transparent electronics. Then, an overview is presented of state of the art n-type TFTs processed by physical vapour deposition methods, and finally one of the most exciting, promising, and low cost but powerful technologies is discussed: solution-processed oxide TFTs. Moreover, a more detailed focus analysis will be given concerning p-type oxide TFTs, mainly centred on two of the most promising semiconductor candidates: copper oxide and tin oxide. The most recent data related to the production of complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) devices based on n- and p-type oxide TFT is also be presented. The last topic of this review is devoted to some emerging applications, finalizing with the main conclusions. Related work that originated at CENIMAT|I3N during the last six years is included in more detail, which has led to the fabrication of high performance n- and p-type oxide transistors as well as the fabrication of CMOS devices with and on paper.

Oxide Semiconductor Thin‐Film Transistors: A Review of Recent Advances

The surface and materials science of tin oxide

The analysis of various parameters of metal oxides and the search of criteria, which could be used during material selection for solid-state gas sensor applications, were the main objectives of this review. For these purposes the correlation between electro-physical (band gap, electroconductivity, type of conductivity, oxygen diffusion), thermodynamic, surface, electronic, structural properties, catalytic activity and gas-sensing characteristics of metal oxides designed for solid-state sensors was established. It has been discussed the role of metal oxide manufacturability, chemical activity, and parameter's stability in sensing material choice as well.

Metal oxides for solid-state gas sensors: What determines our choice?

Multiferroics, defined for those multifunctional materials in which two or more kinds of fundamental ferroicities coexist, have become one of the hottest topics of condensed matter physics and materials science in recent years. The coexistence of several order parameters in multiferroics brings out novel physical phenomena and offers possibilities for new device functions. The revival of research activities on multiferroics is evidenced by some novel discoveries and concepts, both experimentally and theoretically. In this review, we outline some of the progressive milestones in this stimulating field, especially for those single-phase multiferroics where magnetism and ferroelectricity coexist. First, we highlight the physical concepts of multiferroicity and the current challenges to integrate the magnetism and ferroelectricity into a single-phase system. Subsequently, we summarize various strategies used to combine the two types of order. Special attention is paid to three novel mechanisms for multiferroicity generation: (1) the ferroelectricity induced by the spin orders such as spiral and E-phase antiferromagnetic spin orders, which break the spatial inversion symmetry; (2) the ferroelectricity originating from the charge-ordered states; and (3) the ferrotoroidic system. Then, we address the elementary excitations such as electromagnons, and the application potentials of multiferroics. Finally, open questions and future research opportunities are proposed.

Multiferroicity: the coupling between magnetic and polarization orders

14 and space group P4 2 /mnm. The unit cell consists of two metal atoms and four oxygen atoms. Each metal atom is situated amidst six oxygen atoms which approximately form the corners of a regular octahedron. Oxygen atoms are surrounded by three tin atoms which approximate the corners of an equilateral triangle. The lattice parameters are a5b 54.737 A, and c53.186 A. The ionic radii for O 22 and Sn 41 are 1.40 and 0.71 A, respectively. 1 The 6 unit cell atoms give a total of 18 branches for the vibrational modes in the first Brillouin zone. The mechanical representation of the normal vibration modes at the center of the Brillouin zone is given by 2,3 G5G 1 ~ A1g!1G 2 ~ A2g!1G 3 ~ B1g!1G 4 ~ B2g! 1G 5 ~ Eg!12G 1 ~ A2u!12G 4 ~ B1u!14G 5 ~ Eu!, ~1! using the Koster notation with the commonly used symmetry designations listed in parenthesis. The latter will be used throughout this article. Of these 18 modes, 2 are active in infrared ~the single A2u and the triply degenerate Eu), 4 are Raman active ~three nondegenerated modes, A1g , B1g , B2g , and a doubly degenerate Eg), and two are silent ( A2g , and B1u). One A2u and two Eu modes are acoustic. In the Raman active modes oxygen atoms vibrate while Sn atoms are at rest ~see Fig. 1 in Ref. 4!. The nondegenerate mode, A1g , B1g , and B2g , vibrate in the plane perpendicular to the c axis while the doubly degenerated E g mode vibrates in the direction of the c axis. The B 1g mode consists of rotation of the oxygen atoms around the c axis, with all six oxygen atoms of the octahedra participating in the vibration. In the A2g infrared active mode, Sn and oxygen atoms vibrate in the c axis direction, and in the Eu mode both Sn and O atoms vibrate in the plane perpendicular to the c axis. The silent modes correspond to vibrations of the Sn and O atoms in the direction of the c axis (B1u) or in the plane perpendicular to this direction ( A2g). According to the literature, the corresponding calculated or observed frequencies of the optical modes are presented in Table I. When the size of the SnO2 crystal is reduced, the infrared spectrum is modified because the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and the particles depends on the crystal’s size, shape, and state of aggregation. 8‐1 0 Experiments using Raman spectroscopy have also reported spectrum modification, at least partially. Low frequency bands have been observed previously in SnO2, 11 and several authors have reported the existence of bands not observed in single-crystal or polycrystalline SnO 2 which have been found to be closely related to grain size. 12‐15 However, some of these reports do not adequately explain the origin of the abnormal spectrum. The aim of this article is to present a complete Raman spectrum of SnO2 nanoparticles. The analysis comprises ~i! modification of the normal vibration modes active in Raman when the spectra are obtained from nanocrystals of SnO2 ~‘‘classical modes’’ !, ~ii! the disorder activated surface modes in the region around 475‐775 cm 21 , and ~iii! the appearance of the acoustic modes in the low-frequency region of the spectra.

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The complete Raman spectrum of nanometric SnO2 particles

High mobility bottom gate thin film transistors (TFTs) with an amorphous gallium tin zinc oxide (a-GSZO) channel layer have been produced by rf magnetron cosputtering using a gallium zinc oxide (GZO) and tin (Sn) targets. The effect of postannealing temperatures (200, 250, and 300°C) was evaluated and compared with two series of TFTs produced at room temperature (S1) and 150°C (S2) during the channel deposition. From the results, it was observed that the effect of postannealing is crucial for both series of TFTs either for stability as well as for improving the electrical characteristics. The a-GSZO TFTs (W∕L=50∕50μm) operate in the enhancement mode (n-type), present a high saturation mobility of 24.6cm2∕Vs, a subthreshold gate swing voltage of 0.38V/decade, a turn-on voltage of −0.5V, a threshold voltage of 4.6V, and an Ion∕Ioff ratio of 8×107, satisfying all the requirements to be used as active-matrix backplane.

High mobility indium free amorphous oxide thin film transistors

During the last years, oxide semiconductors have shown that they will have a key role in the future of electronics. In fact, several research groups have already presented working devices with remarkable electrical and optical properties based on these materials, mainly thin-film transistors (TFTs). Most of these TFTs use indium-tin oxide (ITO) as the material for source/drain electrodes. This paper focuses on the investigation of different materials to replace ITO in inverted-staggered TFTs based on gallium-indium-zinc oxide (GIZO) semiconductor. The analyzed electrode materials were indium-zinc oxide, Ti, Al, Mo, and Ti/Au, with each of these materials used in two different kinds of devices: one was annealed after GIZO channel deposition but prior to source/drain deposition, and the other was annealed at the end of device production. The results show an improvement on the electrical properties when the annealing is performed at the end (for instance, with Ti/Au electrodes, mobility rises from 19 to 25 cm2/V ldr s, and turn-on voltage drops from 4 to 2 V). Using time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS), we could confirm that some diffusion exists in the source/drain electrodes/semiconductor interface, which is in close agreement with the obtained electrical properties. In addition to TOF-SIMS results for relevant elements, electrical characterization is presented for each kind of device, including the extraction of source/drain series resistances and TFT intrinsic parameters, such as (intrinsic mobility) and VTi (intrinsic threshold voltage).

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Gallium–Indium–Zinc-Oxide-Based Thin-Film Transistors: Influence of the Source/Drain Material

Role of Ga2O3–In2O3–ZnO channel composition on the electrical performance of thin-film transistors

In this work we present a micromachined twin sensor that can distinguish between carbon monoxide (CO) and O2 gas taking advantage of the high sensitivity of SnO2 to these gases The SnO2 nanoparticles of both sensors are catalytically modified with different Pd loadings that act as active filters In this way, one sensor response is turned to present a higher sensitivity to CO than to O2, whereas the other sensor is mainly turned for detecting O2 variations The twin sensor has two membranes in the same die of micromachined silicon Each membrane works independently from the other without any cross talk of temperature The resistance data obtained from this twin sensor as a function of CO and O2 concentrations is parametrized Then, two functions are calculated for the quantification of CO/O2 gas mixtures A comparison with commercial gas sensors is shown

Anna Vilà

Papers

The complete Raman spectrum of nanometric SnO2 particles

High mobility indium free amorphous oxide thin film transistors

Gallium–Indium–Zinc-Oxide-Based Thin-Film Transistors: Influence of the Source/Drain Material

Role of Ga2O3–In2O3–ZnO channel composition on the electrical performance of thin-film transistors

Micromachined twin gas sensor for CO and O2 quantification based on catalytically modified nano-SnO2