Room-temperature-processed flexible n-InGaZnO/p-Cu₂O heterojunction diodes and high-frequency diode rectifiers

Abstract

In this work, we report successful implementation of room-temperature-processed flexible n-InGaZnO/p-Cu2O heterojunction diodes on polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) plastic substrates using the sputtering technique. Using n-type InGaZnO and p-type Cu2O films deposited by sputtering at room temperature, flexible n-InGaZnO/p-Cu2O heterojunction diodes were successfully fabricated on PEN plastic substrates. The didoes on PEN substrates exhibited a low apparent turn-on voltage of 0.44 V, a high rectification ratio of up to 3.4 × 104 at ±1.2 V, a high forward current of 1 A cm−2 around 1 V and a decent ideality factor of 1.4, similar to the characteristics of n-InGaZnO/p-Cu2O diodes fabricated on glass substrates. The characterization of the frequency response of the room-temperature-processed flexible n-InGaZnO/p-Cu2O heterojunction diode rectifiers indicated that they are capable of high-frequency operation up to 27 MHz, sufficient for high-frequency (13.56 MHz) applications. Preliminary bending tests on diode characteristics and rectifier frequency responses indicate their promise for applications in flexible electronics.