Issue 40, 2017

Towards environmentally stable solution-processed oxide thin-film transistors: a rare-metal-free oxide-based semiconductor/insulator heterostructure and chemically stable multi-stacking

Abstract

For practical solution-processed oxide thin-film transistors (TFTs) with cost efficiency, high performance, and long-term environmental reliability, we suggested a novel sol–gel processed rare-metal-free oxide-based semiconductor/insulator [ZnSnO (ZTO)/Al2O3] heterostructure channel and chemically stable sol–gel multi-stacking method. In the rare-metal-free ZTO/Al2O3 heterostructure, an In- and Ga-free ZTO semiconductor with high chemical durability is employed as an effective electron transport layer. An earth-abundant Al2O3 insulator is employed as both an ambient gas molecule barrier in the ZTO back-channel region and a tunneling-induced electron transport layer beneath the source/drain electrodes. In order to minimize inevitable chemical attack coming from acidic and basic precursor solutions during the sol–gel based heterostructure construction, chemically stable sol–gel ZTO/Al2O3 heterostructure stacking was successfully demonstrated with a chemically durable Sn-modulated ZTO semiconductor and weakly corrosive pH-engineered Al2O3 precursor solution. The proposed rare-metal-free ZTO/Al2O3 heterostructure and chemically stable stacking realized sol–gel processed oxide TFT with excellent stability under humidity, temperature, bias voltage, and light exposure. We believe that our novel ZTO/Al2O3 heterostructure and chemically stable sol–gel stacking method will provide an interesting route for the fabrication of practical solution-based oxide TFTs with cost efficiency, high performance, and long-term reliability, instead of conventional rare-metal based oxide materials and channel structures with high environmental instability.

Graphical abstract: Towards environmentally stable solution-processed oxide thin-film transistors: a rare-metal-free oxide-based semiconductor/insulator heterostructure and chemically stable multi-stacking

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
28 Qad 2017
Accepted
26 Leq 2017
First published
29 Leq 2017

J. Mater. Chem. C, 2017,5, 10498-10508

Towards environmentally stable solution-processed oxide thin-film transistors: a rare-metal-free oxide-based semiconductor/insulator heterostructure and chemically stable multi-stacking

S. W. Cho, D. E. Kim, K. S. Kim, S. H. Jung and H. K. Cho, J. Mater. Chem. C, 2017, 5, 10498 DOI: 10.1039/C7TC03393A

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