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Journal ArticleDOI

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

12 Jun 2012-Advanced Materials (WILEY‐VCH Verlag)-Vol. 24, Iss: 22, pp 2945-2986
TL;DR: The recent progress in n- and p-type oxide based thin-film transistors (TFT) is reviewed, with special emphasis on solution-processed andp-type, and the major milestones already achieved with this emerging and very promising technology are summarizeed.
Abstract: 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.
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: 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 in this article.
Abstract: 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.

1,535 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This Review surveys the uniqueness and universality of MOs versus other unconventional electronic materials in terms of materials chemistry and physics, electronic characteristics, thin-film fabrication strategies and selected applications in thin- film transistors, solar cells, diodes and memories.
Abstract: Optical transparency, tunable conducting properties and easy processability make metal oxides key materials for advanced optoelectronic devices. This Review discusses recent advances in the synthesis of these materials and their use in applications. Metal oxides (MOs) are the most abundant materials in the Earth's crust and are ingredients in traditional ceramics. MO semiconductors are strikingly different from conventional inorganic semiconductors such as silicon and III–V compounds with respect to materials design concepts, electronic structure, charge transport mechanisms, defect states, thin-film processing and optoelectronic properties, thereby enabling both conventional and completely new functions. Recently, remarkable advances in MO semiconductors for electronics have been achieved, including the discovery and characterization of new transparent conducting oxides, realization of p-type along with traditional n-type MO semiconductors for transistors, p–n junctions and complementary circuits, formulations for printing MO electronics and, most importantly, commercialization of amorphous oxide semiconductors for flat panel displays. This Review surveys the uniqueness and universality of MOs versus other unconventional electronic materials in terms of materials chemistry and physics, electronic characteristics, thin-film fabrication strategies and selected applications in thin-film transistors, solar cells, diodes and memories.

1,098 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This Review focuses on the analysis of new approaches and results in the field of solution combustion synthesis (SCS) obtained during recent years, emphasizing the chemical mechanisms that are responsible for rapid self-sustained combustion reactions.
Abstract: Solution combustion is an exciting phenomenon, which involves propagation of self-sustained exothermic reactions along an aqueous or sol–gel media. This process allows for the synthesis of a variety of nanoscale materials, including oxides, metals, alloys, and sulfides. This Review focuses on the analysis of new approaches and results in the field of solution combustion synthesis (SCS) obtained during recent years. Thermodynamics and kinetics of reactive solutions used in different chemical routes are considered, and the role of process parameters is discussed, emphasizing the chemical mechanisms that are responsible for rapid self-sustained combustion reactions. The basic principles for controlling the composition, structure, and nanostructure of SCS products, and routes to regulate the size and morphology of the nanoscale materials are also reviewed. Recently developed systems that lead to the formation of novel materials and unique structures (e.g., thin films and two-dimensional crystals) with unusual...

841 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this review, recent progress in materials and devices for future wearable sensor technologies for bio and medical applications are reported.
Abstract: Printable electronics present a new era of wearable electronic technologies. Detailed technologies consisting of novel ink semiconductor materials, flexible substrates, and unique processing methods can be integrated to create flexible sensors. To detect various stimuli of the human body, as well as specific environments, unique electronic devices formed by "ink-based semiconductors" onto flexible and/or stretchable substrates have become a major research trend in recent years. Materials such as inorganic, organic, and hybrid semiconductors with various structures (i.e., 1D, 2D and 3D) with printing capabilities have been considered for bio and medical applications. In this review, we report recent progress in materials and devices for future wearable sensor technologies.

589 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, 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 summarized.
Abstract: 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.

529 citations

References
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a homojunctioned amorphous InGaZnO (a-IGZO) thin film transistor (TFT) was proposed and compared to that of a conventional structured TFT.
Abstract: We proposed a homojunctioned amorphous InGaZnO (a-IGZO) thin film transistor (TFT) and compared its performance to that of a conventional structured TFT. The source/drain regions were formed in the a-IGZO channel layer using Ar and H2 plasma treatments, respectively. Hydrogen itself was found to act as a carrier of donors with H2 plasma treatment, which had effects to a depth of 50 nm. Our TFT had a field-effect mobility of 7.27 cm2/V s, an on/off ratio of 1.2×107, a threshold voltage of 0.96 V, and a subthreshold swing of 0.49 V/decade.

199 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, an optical model and subgap electronic states for a representative amorphous oxide semiconductor, InGaZnO 4 (a-IGZO), were developed based on the Tauc-Lorentz model combined with a Lorentz-type oscillator.
Abstract: This paper discusses an optical model and subgap electronic states for a representative amorphous oxide semiconductor, InGaZnO 4 (a-IGZO). Parameterized optical models were developed based on the Tauc―Lorentz model combined with a Lorentz-type oscillator. The measured optical absorption spectra exhibit nearly linear dependences on photon energy (E) between 3 eV < E < 5 eV, which requires the transition energies in the Tauc―Lorentz model (E 0,TL ) being around 4 eV. The optimized parameters for the fixed E 0,TL of 3.7 eV are provided for four different a-IGZO films with root-mean-square errors less than 1%. Formation energies of crystalline IGZO, stoichiometric a-IGZO, oxygen deficient a-IGZO and their constituent oxides were calculated by the density functional theory using the local density approximation (LDA) and generalized gradient approximation with PBE96 functionals (PBE). PBE gives larger unit cell volumes at the ground states and better agreement in the formation energies than LDA does. The formation energies of an oxygen deficiency in a-IGZO were calculated to be 3.2―3.5 eV. The calculated electronic structures of stoichiometric a-IGZO models exhibit somewhat large dispersions for conduction bands (CB), which are not largely affected by the disordered structure in a-IGZO, while the dispersions of the valence bands (VBs) are very small, unlike the crystalline IGZO, showing that a-IGZO have strongly localized states at the VB maximums (VBMs). Oxygen-deficient a-IGZO models showed that oxygen deficiencies form both a deep localized state at 0.4―1 eV above VBM and a shallow donor state depending on local atomic configurations. An oxygen deficiency that forms a deep state breaks the dispersion of the CB, which could be an origin of the subgap states observed near CB.

192 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Low-cost, non-toxic, inorganic solar cell technologies have received comparatively little attention but have both the potential for annual electricity production in excess of worldwide demand and material extraction costs less than that of crystalline silicon.
Abstract: The need for sustainable power generation has encouraged research into a variety of photovoltaic materials and structures, with a greater emphasis being placed on a balance between performance and cost. The stability of many semiconducting oxides relative to other inexpensive solar cell technologies, such as organic [ 1 ] and dye-sensitized [ 2 ] cells, makes them an attractive alternative. Yet low-cost, non-toxic, inorganic solar cell technologies have received comparatively little attention. In a recent report, nine inorganic semiconductors were identifi ed as having both the potential for annual electricity production in excess of worldwide demand and material extraction costs less than that of crystalline silicon. [ 3 ] Further to materials costs, a recent study examined the high cost of modern vacuum deposition methods and highlighted the need for low-temperature, atmospheric, solution-based synthesis. [ 4 ] Solution-based synthesis of several of the nine, promising inorganic materials has been demonstrated previously. [ 5–7 ] Copper (I) oxide (Cu 2 O), in particular, has been synthesized extensively in polycrystalline form by electrodeposition from solutions near room temperature. [ 5 , 8 , 9 ]

189 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A new hybrid-type dicyanomethylene-substituted terthienoquinoid compound as a highly soluble n-channel organic semiconductor was synthesized and its spin-coated thin film was utilized as an active semiconducting channel in field-effect transistors, which showed electron mobilities of 0.16 cm2 V-1 s-1.
Abstract: A new hybrid-type dicyanomethylene-substituted terthienoquinoid compound as a highly soluble n-channel organic semiconductor was synthesized, and its spin-coated thin film was utilized as an active semiconducting channel in field-effect transistors, which showed electron mobilities of up to 0.16 cm2 V-1 s-1.

188 citations