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

Gallium oxide (Ga2O3) is emerging as a viable candidate for certain classes of power electronics, solar blind UV photodetectors, solar cells, and sensors with capabilities beyond existing technologies due to its large bandgap. It is usually reported that there are five different polymorphs of Ga2O3, namely, the monoclinic (β-Ga2O3), rhombohedral (α), defective spinel (γ), cubic (δ), or orthorhombic (e) structures. Of these, the β-polymorph is the stable form under normal conditions and has been the most widely studied and utilized. Since melt growth techniques can be used to grow bulk crystals of β-GaO3, the cost of producing larger area, uniform substrates is potentially lower compared to the vapor growth techniques used to manufacture bulk crystals of GaN and SiC. The performance of technologically important high voltage rectifiers and enhancement-mode Metal-Oxide Field Effect Transistors benefit from the larger critical electric field of β-Ga2O3 relative to either SiC or GaN. However, the absence of clear demonstrations of p-type doping in Ga2O3, which may be a fundamental issue resulting from the band structure, makes it very difficult to simultaneously achieve low turn-on voltages and ultra-high breakdown. The purpose of this review is to summarize recent advances in the growth, processing, and device performance of the most widely studied polymorph, β-Ga2O3. The role of defects and impurities on the transport and optical properties of bulk, epitaxial, and nanostructures material, the difficulty in p-type doping, and the development of processing techniques like etching, contact formation, dielectrics for gate formation, and passivation are discussed. Areas where continued development is needed to fully exploit the properties of Ga2O3 are identified.

A review of Ga2O3 materials, processing, and devices

Hydrogen sensors are of increasing importance in connection with the development and expanded use of hydrogen gas as an energy carrier and as a chemical reactant. There are an immense number of sensors reported in the literature for hydrogen detection and in this work these sensors are classified into eight different operating principles. Characteristic performance parameters of these sensor types, such as measuring range, sensitivity, selectivity and response time are reviewed and the latest technology developments are reported. Testing and validation of sensor performance are described in relation to standardisation and use in potentially explosive atmospheres so as to identify the requirements on hydrogen sensors for practical applications.

Hydrogen Sensors - A review

ZnS nanostructures: From synthesis to applications

A method for annealing metal-oxide semiconductor films with deep-ultraviolet light yields thin-film transistors with performance comparable to that of thermally annealed devices, and widens the range of substrates on which such devices can be fabricated. Solution-processable metal-oxide semiconductors are attractive materials for low-cost, flexible electronics, but the need to anneal the deposited materials at relatively high temperatures limits the range of substrates on which such devices can be fabricated. Now Yong-Hoon Kim and colleagues demonstrate that irradiating the solution-cast films with deep ultraviolet light can obviate the need for an annealing step. In this system, photochemical activation serves essentially the same purpose as annealing, and the resulting semiconducting materials have device performance levels comparable to those produced using the high-temperature techniques. Amorphous metal-oxide semiconductors have emerged as potential replacements for organic and silicon materials in thin-film electronics. The high carrier mobility in the amorphous state, and excellent large-area uniformity, have extended their applications to active-matrix electronics, including displays, sensor arrays and X-ray detectors1,2,3,4,5,6,7. Moreover, their solution processability and optical transparency have opened new horizons for low-cost printable and transparent electronics on plastic substrates8,9,10,11,12,13. But metal-oxide formation by the sol–gel route requires an annealing step at relatively high temperature2,14,15,16,17,18,19, which has prevented the incorporation of these materials with the polymer substrates used in high-performance flexible electronics. Here we report a general method for forming high-performance and operationally stable metal-oxide semiconductors at room temperature, by deep-ultraviolet photochemical activation of sol–gel films. Deep-ultraviolet irradiation induces efficient condensation and densification of oxide semiconducting films by photochemical activation at low temperature. This photochemical activation is applicable to numerous metal-oxide semiconductors, and the performance (in terms of transistor mobility and operational stability) of thin-film transistors fabricated by this route compares favourably with that of thin-film transistors based on thermally annealed materials. The field-effect mobilities of the photo-activated metal-oxide semiconductors are as high as 14 and 7 cm2 V−1 s−1 (with an Al2O3 gate insulator) on glass and polymer substrates, respectively; and seven-stage ring oscillators fabricated on polymer substrates operate with an oscillation frequency of more than 340 kHz, corresponding to a propagation delay of less than 210 nanoseconds per stage.

Flexible metal-oxide devices made by room-temperature photochemical activation of sol–gel films

Recent advances in wide bandgap semiconductor biological and gas sensors

Depletion-mode indium zinc oxide (IZO) channel thin film transistors were fabricated on glass substrates from layers deposited at room temperature using rf magnetron sputtering. The threshold voltage was in the range from −5.5to−6.5V depending on gate dielectric (SiO2) thickness and the drain current on-to-off ratio was ∼105. The maximum field effect mobility in the channel was ∼4.5cm2V−1s−1, lower than the Hall mobility of ∼17cm2V−1s−1 in the same layers, suggesting a strong influence of scattering due to trapped charges at the SiO2-IZO interface. The low deposition and processing temperatures make these devices suitable for applications requiring flexible substrates.

Room temperature deposited indium zinc oxide thin film transistors

We investigated the transfer characteristics and the gate-bias stability of amorphous indium-gallium-zinc oxide thin-film transistors when the channel layer was exposed to hydrogen, oxygen, air, or vacuum at room temperature during measurements. The threshold voltage and the drain current were changed by the ambient atmospheres. The threshold voltage shift (ΔVth) under gate-bias stress was faster in hydrogen than in oxygen and vacuum. It is suggested that hydrogen exposure degrades the gate-bias stress stability due to surface accumulation layer creation. The characteristic trapping times, τ, in H2, O2, air, and vacuum were 5×103, 1.5×104, 2×104, and 6.3×104 s, respectively.

Effects of ambient atmosphere on the transfer characteristics and gate-bias stress stability of amorphous indium-gallium-zinc oxide thin-film transistors

High-performance amorphous (α−) InGaZnO-based thin film transistors (TFTs) were fabricated on flexible polyethylene terephthalate substrates coated with indium oxide (In2O3) films. The InGaZnO films were deposited by rf magnetron sputtering with the presence of O2 at room temperature. The n-type carrier concentration of InGaZnO film was ∼2×1017 cm−3. The bottom-gate-type TFTs with SiO2 or SiNx gate dielectric operated in enhancement mode with good electrical characteristics: saturation mobility 11.5 cm2 V−1 s−1 for SiO2 and 12.1 cm2 V−1 s−1 for SiNx gate dielectrics and drain current on-to-off ratio >105. TFTs with SiNx gate dielectric exhibited better performance than those with SiO2. This is attributed to the relatively high dielectric constant (i.e., high-k material) of SiNx. After more than 500 h aging time at room temperature, the saturation mobility of the TFTs with SiO2 gate dielectric was comparable to the as-fabricated value and the threshold voltage shift was 150 mV.

High performance indium gallium zinc oxide thin film transistors fabricated on polyethylene terephthalate substrates

Multiple GaN nanowires produced by thermal chemical vapor deposition were employed as gas sensors for detection of hydrogen at concentrations from 200–1500 ppm in N2 at 300 K. Palladium coating of the wires improved the sensitivity by a factor of up to 11 at low ppm concentrations relative to uncoated controls. The GaN nanowires showed relative responses of ∼7.4% at 200 ppm and ∼9.1% at 1500 ppm H2 in N2 after a 10 min exposure. Upon removal of hydrogen from the measurement ambient, ∼90% of the initial GaN conductance was recovered within 2 min. Temperature dependent measurements showed a larger relative response and shorter response time at elevated temperature. The adsorption activation energy of the sensor was 2.2 kcal mol−1 at 3000 ppm H2 in N2. These sensors exhibit low power consumption (<0.6 mW) at 300 K.

Wantae Lim

Papers

Recent advances in wide bandgap semiconductor biological and gas sensors

Room temperature deposited indium zinc oxide thin film transistors

Effects of ambient atmosphere on the transfer characteristics and gate-bias stress stability of amorphous indium-gallium-zinc oxide thin-film transistors

High performance indium gallium zinc oxide thin film transistors fabricated on polyethylene terephthalate substrates

Room temperature hydrogen detection using Pd-coated GaN nanowires