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At least 37 records · Page 2
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2012

Structural relaxation in amorphous oxide semiconductor, a-In-Ga-Zn-O

Amorphous In-Ga-Zn-O (a-IGZO) is expected as a backplane transistor material to drive next-generation flat-panel and flexible displays. It has been elucidated that thermal annealing even at low temperatures <200 deg. C reduces deep subgap defects and those at {>=}300 deg. C further improve device characteristics, stability, and uniformity. These temperatures are much lower than the reported crystallization temperature (T{sub X}{approx} 600 deg. C). In this work, we investigate effects of thermal annealing on the structural and optical properties of a-IGZO thin films. We performed classical molecular dynamics simulation (CMD) and optical interference analyses including spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE). CMD reproduced the x-ray diffraction pattern of a-IGZO and exhibited a glass transition. Experimentally, it was found that T{sub X} depends largely on deposition methods and conditions, probably due to different chemical compositions. Sputter-deposited a-IGZO films exhibited onset T{sub X}{approx} 600 deg. C and crystalline volume fraction X{sub C} increased linearly from 600 deg. C. 1.2% of film densification occurred even at 600 deg. C due to crystallization. High-temperature in situ SE measurements did not detect a symptom of a glass transition temperature (T{sub g}) presumably because the T{sub X} is close to T{sub g} similar to the case of amorphous metals.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2013

Analysis of electronic structure of amorphous InGaZnO/SiO{sub 2} interface by angle-resolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

The electronic structures of amorphous indium gallium zinc oxide (a-IGZO) on a SiO{sub 2} layers before and after annealing were observed by constant final state X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (CFS-XPS) and X-ray adsorption near-edge structure spectroscopy (XANES). From the results of angle-resolved CFS-XPS, the change in the electronic state was clearly observed in the a-IGZO bulk rather than in the a-IGZO/SiO{sub 2} interface. This suggests that the electronic structures of the a-IGZO bulk strongly affected the thin-film transistor characteristics. The results of XANES indicated an increase in the number of tail states upon atmospheric annealing (AT). We consider that the increase in the number of tail states decreased the channel mobility of AT samples.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Significant electrical control of amorphous oxide thin film transistors by an ultrathin Ti surface polarity modifier

We demonstrate an enhanced electrical stability through a Ti oxide (TiO{sub x}) layer on the amorphous InGaZnO (a-IGZO) back-channel; this layer acts as a surface polarity modifier. Ultrathin Ti deposited on the a-IGZO existed as a TiO{sub x} thin film, resulting in oxygen cross-binding with a-IGZO surface. The electrical properties of a-IGZO thin film transistors (TFTs) with TiO{sub x} depend on the surface polarity change and electronic band structure evolution. This result indicates that TiO{sub x} on the back-channel serves as not only a passivation layer protecting the channel from ambient molecules or process variables but also a control layer of TFT device parameters.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Improvement in gate bias stress instability of amorphous indium-gallium-zinc oxide thin-film transistors using microwave irradiation

In this study, we evaluated the effects of microwave irradiation (MWI) post-deposition-annealing (PDA) treatment on the gate bias stress instability of amorphous indium-gallium-zinc oxide thin-film transistors (a-IGZO TFTs) and compared the results with a conventional thermal annealing PDA treatment. The MWI-PDA-treated a-IGZO TFTs exhibited enhanced electrical performance as well as improved long-term stability with increasing microwave power. The positive turn-on voltage shift (ΔV{sub ON}) as a function of stress time with positive bias and varying temperature was precisely modeled on a stretched-exponential equation, suggesting that charge trapping is a dominant mechanism in the instability of MWI-PDA-treated a-IGZO TFTs. The characteristic trapping time and average effective barrier height for electron transport indicate that the MWI-PDA treatment effectively reduces the defects in a-IGZO TFTs, resulting in a superior resistance against gate bias stress.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Solution-processed PCDTBT capped low-voltage InGaZnO{sub x} thin film phototransistors for visible-light detection

The effects of visible-light detection based on solution processed poly[N-9′′-hepta-decanyl-2,7-carbazole-alt-5,5-(4′,7′-di-2-thienyl-2′,1′, 3′benzothiadiazole) (PCDTBT) capped InGaZnOx (IGZO) phototransistors with Al{sub 2}O{sub x} serving as gate dielectric are investigated in this paper. The high-k dielectric is used to lower the device operating voltage down to 2 V. Photons emitted from laser sources with the wavelengths (λ) of 532 nm and 635 nm are absorbed through the layer of PCDTBT to generate electron-hole-pairs (EHPs). After the separation of EHPs, electrons are injected into IGZO layer through the p-n junction formed between the IGZO (n-type semiconductor) and the PCDTBT (p-type semiconductor). The photo-generated carriers boost the drain current of the transistors as well as bring about the negative threshold voltage shift. Significant enhanced detection performance is achieved under the laser wavelength of 532 nm. The highest photoresponsivity reaches up to 20 A/W, while the photoresponse rise time comes to 10 ms and the fall time comes to approximate 76 ms, which is much faster than trap assisted IGZO visible light detection. The fabricated phototransistors favor the application of visible-light detectors and/or optical switches.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Low-frequency noise properties in Pt-indium gallium zinc oxide Schottky diodes

The low-frequency noise properties of Pt-indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO) Schottky diodes at different forward biases are investigated. The IGZO layer and Pt contact were deposited by RF sputtering at room temperature. The diode showed an ideality factor of 1.2 and a barrier height of 0.94 eV. The current noise spectral density exhibited 1/f behavior at low frequencies. The analysis of the current dependency of the noise spectral density revealed that for the as-deposited diode, the noise followed Luo's mobility and diffusivity fluctuation model in the thermionic-emission-limited region and Hooge's empirical theory in the series-resistance-limited region. A low Hooge's constant of 1.4 × 10{sup −9} was found in the space-charge region. In the series-resistance-limited region, the Hooge's constant was 2.2 × 10{sup −5}. After annealing, the diode showed degradation in the electrical performance. The interface-trap-induced noise dominated the noise spectrum. By using the random walk model, the interface-trap density was obtained to be 3.6 × 10{sup 15 }eV{sup −1 }cm{sup −2}. This work provides a quantitative approach to analyze the properties of Pt-IGZO interfacial layers. These low noise properties are a prerequisite to the use of IGZO Schottky diodes in switch elements in memory devices, photosensors, and mixer diodes.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2015

Mobility enhancement in crystalline In-Ga-Zn-oxide with In-rich compositions

The electron mobility of In-Ga-Zn-oxide (IGZO) is known to be enhanced by higher In content. We theoretically investigated the mobility-enhancement mechanism by proposing an In-Ga-Zn-disorder scattering model for an In-rich crystalline IGZO (In{sub 1+x}Ga{sub 1−x}O{sub 3}(ZnO){sub m} (0 < x < 1, m > 0)) thin film. The obtained theoretical mobility was found to be in agreement with experimental Hall mobility for a crystalline In{sub 1.5}Ga{sub 0.5}O{sub 3}(ZnO) (or In{sub 3}GaZn{sub 2}O{sub 8}) thin film. The mechanism specific to In-rich crystalline IGZO thin films is based on three types of Coulomb scattering potentials that originate from effective valence differences. In this study, the In-Ga-Zn-disorder scattering model indicates that the effective valence of the In{sup 3+} ions in In-rich crystalline IGZO thin films significantly affects their electron mobility.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Influence of the charge trap density distribution in a gate insulator on the positive-bias stress instability of amorphous indium-gallium-zinc oxide thin-film transistors

We investigated the positive-bias stress (PBS) instability of thin film transistors (TFTs) composed of different types of first-gate insulators, which serve as a protection layer of the active surface. Two different deposition methods, i.e., the thermal atomic layer deposition (THALD) and plasma-enhanced ALD (PEALD) of Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}, were applied for the deposition of the first GI. When THALD was used to deposit the GI, amorphous indium-gallium-zinc oxide (a-IGZO) TFTs showed superior stability characteristics under PBS. For example, the threshold voltage shift (ΔV{sub th}) was 0 V even after a PBS time (t{sub stress}) of 3000 s under a gate voltage (V{sub G}) condition of 5 V (with an electrical field of 1.25 MV/cm). On the other hand, when the first GI was deposited by PEALD, the ΔV{sub th} value of a-IGZO TFTs was 0.82 V after undergoing an identical amount of PBS. In order to interpret the disparate ΔV{sub th} values resulting from PBS quantitatively, the average oxide charge trap density (N{sub T}) in the GI and its spatial distribution were investigated through low-frequency noise characterizations. A higher N{sub T} resulted during in the PEALD type GI than in the THALD case. Specifically, the PEALD process on a-IGZO layer surface led to an increasing trend of N{sub T} near the GI/a-IGZO interface compared to bulk GI owing to oxygen plasma damage on the a-IGZO surface.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2014

Amorphous In–Ga–Zn–O thin-film transistor active pixel sensor x-ray imager for digital breast tomosynthesis

Purpose: The breast cancer detection rate for digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) is limited by the x-ray image quality. The limiting Nyquist frequency for current DBT systems is around 5 lp/mm, while the fine image details contained in the high spatial frequency region (>5 lp/mm) are lost. Also today the tomosynthesis patient dose is high (0.67–3.52 mGy). To address current issues, in this paper, for the first time, a high-resolution low-dose organic photodetector/amorphous In–Ga–Zn–O thin-film transistor (a-IGZO TFT) active pixel sensor (APS) x-ray imager is proposed for next generation DBT systems. Methods: The indirect x-ray detector is based on a combination of a novel low-cost organic photodiode (OPD) and a cesium iodide-based (CsI:Tl) scintillator. The proposed APS x-ray imager overcomes the difficulty of weak signal detection, when small pixel size and low exposure conditions are used, by an on-pixel signal amplification with a significant charge gain. The electrical performance of a-IGZO TFT APS pixel circuit is investigated by SPICE simulation using modified Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) TFT model. Finally, the noise, detective quantum efficiency (DQE), and resolvability of the complete system are modeled using the cascaded system formalism. Results: The result demonstrates that a large charge gain of 31–122 is achieved for the proposed high-mobility (5–20 cm{sup 2}/V s) amorphous metal-oxide TFT APS. The charge gain is sufficient to eliminate the TFT thermal noise, flicker noise as well as the external readout circuit noise. Moreover, the low TFT (<10{sup −13} A) and OPD (<10{sup −8} A/cm{sup 2}) leakage currents can further reduce the APS noise. Cascaded system analysis shows that the proposed APS imager with a 75 μm pixel pitch can effectively resolve the Nyquist frequency of 6.67 lp/mm, which can be further improved to ∼10 lp/mm if the pixel pitch is reduced to 50 μm. Moreover, the detector entrance exposure per projection can be reduced from 1 to 0.3 mR without a significant reduction of DQE. The signal-to-noise ratio of the a-IGZO APS imager under 0.3 mR x-ray exposure is comparable to that of a-Si:H passive pixel sensor imager under 1 mR, indicating good image quality under low dose. A threefold reduction of current tomosynthesis dose is expected if proposed technology is combined with an advanced DBT image reconstruction method. Conclusions: The proposed a-IGZO APS x-ray imager with a pixel pitch <75 μm is capable to achieve a high spatial frequency (>6.67 lp/mm) and a low dose (<0.4 mGy) in next generation DBT systems.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2015

Deep Subgap Feature in Amorphous Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide. Evidence Against Reduced Indium

Amorphous indium gallium zinc oxide (a-IGZO) is the archetypal transparent amorphous oxide semiconductor. In spite of the gains made with a-IGZO over amorphous silicon in the last decade, the presence of deep subgap states in a-IGZO active layers facilitate instabilities in thin film transistor properties under negative bias illumination stress. Several candidates could contribute to the formation of states within the band gap. We present evidence against In + lone pair active electrons as the origin of the deep subgap features. No In + species are observed, only In0 nano-crystallites under certain oxygen deficient growth conditions. Our results further support under coordinated oxygen as the source of the deep subgap states.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2012

Energy band alignment of InGaZnO{sub 4}/Si heterojunction determined by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was utilized to determine the valence band offset ({Delta}E{sub V}) of the InGaZnO{sub 4} (IGZO)/Si heterojunction. The IGZO films were grown on Si (100) using radio frequency magnetron sputtering. A value of {Delta}E{sub V} = 2.53 eV was obtained by using In 3d{sub 5/2}, Ga 2p{sub 3/2} core energy levels as references. Taking into consideration the experimental band gap of 3.20 eV of the IGZO, this would result in a conduction band offset {Delta}E{sub C} = 0.45 eV in this heterostructure.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2013

Hydrogen passivation of electron trap in amorphous In-Ga-Zn-O thin-film transistors

We report an experimental evidence that some hydrogens passivate electron traps in an amorphous oxide semiconductor, a-In-Ga-Zn-O (a-IGZO). The a-IGZO thin-film transistors (TFTs) annealed at 300 °C exhibit good operation characteristics; while those annealed at ≥400 °C show deteriorated ones. Thermal desorption spectra (TDS) of H{sub 2}O indicate that this threshold annealing temperature corresponds to depletion of H{sub 2}O desorption from the a-IGZO layer. Hydrogen re-doping by wet oxygen annealing recovers the good TFT characteristic. The hydrogens responsible for this passivation have specific binding energies corresponding to the desorption temperatures of 300–430 °C. A plausible structural model is suggested.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2013

Reduction of defect formation in amorphous indium-gallium-zinc-oxide thin film transistors by N{sub 2}O plasma treatment

An abnormal sub-threshold leakage current is observed at high temperature in amorphous indium-gallium-zinc-oxide thin film transistors (a-IGZO TFTs). This phenomenon occurs due to a reduced number of defects in the device's a-IGZO active layer after the device has undergone N{sub 2}O plasma treatment. Experimental verification shows that the N{sub 2}O plasma treatment enhances the thin film bonding strength, thereby suppressing the formation of temperature-dependent holes, which are generated above 400 K by oxygen atoms leaving their original sites. The N{sub 2}O plasma treatment devices have better stability performance than as-fabricated devices. The results suggest that the density of defects for a-IGZO TFTs with N{sub 2}O plasma treatment is much lower than that in as-fabricated devices. The N{sub 2}O plasma treatment repairs the defects and suppresses temperature-dependent sub-threshold leakage current.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Deep-level transient spectroscopy on an amorphous InGaZnO{sub 4} Schottky diode

The first direct measurement is reported of the bulk density of deep states in amorphous IGZO (indium-gallium-zinc oxide) semiconductor by means of deep-level transient spectroscopy (DLTS). The device under test is a Schottky diode of amorphous IGZO semiconductor on a palladium (Pd) Schottky-barrier electrode and with a molybdenum (Mo) Ohmic contact at the top. The DLTS technique allows to independently measure the energy and spatial distribution of subgap states in the IGZO thin film. The subgap trap concentration has a double exponential distribution as a function energy, with a value of ∼10{sup 19} cm{sup −3} eV{sup −1} at the conduction band edge and a value of ∼10{sup 17} cm{sup −3} eV{sup −1} at an energy of 0.55 eV below the conduction band. Such spectral distribution, however, is not uniform through the semiconductor film. The spatial distribution of subgap states correlates well with the background doping density distribution in the semiconductor, which increases towards the Ohmic Mo contact, suggesting that these two properties share the same physical origin.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

A thermalization energy analysis of the threshold voltage shift in amorphous indium gallium zinc oxide thin film transistors under simultaneous negative gate bias and illumination

It has been previously observed that thin film transistors (TFTs) utilizing an amorphous indium gallium zinc oxide (a-IGZO) semiconducting channel suffer from a threshold voltage shift when subjected to a negative gate bias and light illumination simultaneously. In this work, a thermalization energy analysis has been applied to previously published data on negative bias under illumination stress (NBIS) in a-IGZO TFTs. A barrier to defect conversion of 0.65–0.75 eV is extracted, which is consistent with reported energies of oxygen vacancy migration. The attempt-to-escape frequency is extracted to be 10{sup 6}−10{sup 7} s{sup −1}, which suggests a weak localization of carriers in band tail states over a 20–40 nm distance. Models for the NBIS mechanism based on charge trapping are reviewed and a defect pool model is proposed in which two distinct distributions of defect states exist in the a-IGZO band gap: these are associated with states that are formed as neutrally charged and 2+ charged oxygen vacancies at the time of film formation. In this model, threshold voltage shift is not due to a defect creation process, but to a change in the energy distribution of states in the band gap upon defect migration as this allows a state formed as a neutrally charged vacancy to be converted into one formed as a 2+ charged vacancy and vice versa. Carrier localization close to the defect migration site is necessary for the conversion process to take place, and such defect migration sites are associated with conduction and valence band tail states. Under negative gate bias stressing, the conduction band tail is depleted of carriers, but the bias is insufficient to accumulate holes in the valence band tail states, and so no threshold voltage shift results. It is only under illumination that the quasi Fermi level for holes is sufficiently lowered to allow occupation of valence band tail states. The resulting charge localization then allows a negative threshold voltage shift, but only under conditions of simultaneous negative gate bias and illumination, as observed experimentally as the NBIS effect.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

Alumina nanoparticle/polymer nanocomposite dielectric for flexible amorphous indium-gallium-zinc oxide thin film transistors on plastic substrate with superior stability

In this study, the Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} nanoparticles were incorporated into polymer as a nono-composite dielectric for used in a flexible amorphous Indium-Gallium-Zinc Oxide (a-IGZO) thin-film transistor (TFT) on a polyethylene naphthalate substrate by solution process. The process temperature was well below 100 °C. The a-IGZO TFT exhibit a mobility of 5.13 cm{sup 2}/V s on the flexible substrate. After bending at a radius of 4 mm (strain = 1.56%) for more than 100 times, the performance of this a-IGZO TFT was nearly unchanged. In addition, the electrical characteristics are less altered after positive gate bias stress at 10 V for 1500 s. Thus, this technology is suitable for use in flexible displays.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

Improvement of bias-stability in amorphous-indium-gallium-zinc-oxide thin-film transistors by using solution-processed Y{sub 2}O{sub 3} passivation

We demonstrate back channel improvement of back-channel-etch amorphous-indium-gallium-zinc-oxide (a-IGZO) thin-film transistors by using solution-processed yttrium oxide (Y{sub 2}O{sub 3}) passivation. Two different solvents, which are acetonitrile (35%) + ethylene glycol (65%), solvent A and deionized water, solvent B are investigated for the spin-on process of the Y{sub 2}O{sub 3} passivation—performed after patterning source/drain (S/D) Mo electrodes by a conventional HNO{sub 3}-based wet-etch process. Both solvents yield devices with good performance but those passivated by using solvent B exhibit better light and bias stability. Presence of yttrium at the a-IGZO back interface, where it occupies metal vacancy sites, is confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The passivation effect of yttrium is more significant when solvent A is used because of the existence of more metal vacancies, given that the alcohol (65% ethylene glycol) in solvent A may dissolve the metal oxide (a-IGZO) through the formation of alkoxides and water.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗