High Mobility Amorphous Indium-Gallium-Zinc-Oxide Thin-Film Transistor by Aluminum Oxide Passivation Layer

Abstract

This letter demonstrates a high-mobility amorphous indium-gallium-zinc oxide (a-IGZO) thin-film transistor (TFT) with aluminum oxide (Al <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> O <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sub> ) passivation layer by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering and copper (Cu) source/drain electrodes. The fabricated a-IGZO TFT exhibited 20 times higher saturation mobility (142.0 cm <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup> /Vs) than the reference device without Al <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> O <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sub> passivation layer. The generation of metallic indium at the back-channel interface caused by the bombardment of the sputtered Al <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> O <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sub> is the main principle for the remarkable enhancement of saturation mobility. Furthermore, the a-IGZO TFT maintains high mobility and air-ambient-stable characteristics up to four months in ambient conditions.