High Performance and High Yield Solution Processed IGZO Thin Film Transistors Fabricated with Low-Temperature Annealed Hafnium Dioxide Gate Dielectric

Abstract

Solution-processed microelectronics offer advantages, including cost-effectiveness, higher energy efficiency, and compatibility with rapid prototyping compared to their counterparts fabricated through traditional semiconductor manufacturing processes. Unfortunately, solution-processed transistors exhibit wide performance variability and low yield. In this work, a solution-processed transparent indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO) thin film transistor with a low temperature-annealed hafnium oxide dielectric layer is described. Post-annealing temperatures for the sol–gel hafnium dioxide thin film are reduced to below 200 °C, significantly expanding the range of substrates on which the metal oxide dielectric can be deposited. The fabricated devices exhibit excellent characteristics with high field-effect mobilities of over 85 cm2 V−1 s−1, along with low subthreshold swing below 140 mV dec−1, high on/off ratios, and near-zero threshold voltages when operating stably at low-operating voltages of 2 V. The solution processed transparent hafnium dioxide gate dielectric IGZO transistors are shown to exhibit comparatively significantly lower device variation and high yield, allowing for the reproducible fabrication of large-area and transparent solution processed microelectronics systems.