Issue 29, 2017

High performance transparent in-plane silicon nanowire Fin-TFTs via a robust nano-droplet-scanning crystallization dynamics

Abstract

High mobility, scalable and even transparent thin-film transistors (TFTs) are always being pursued in the field of large area electronics. While excimer laser-beam-scanning can crystallize amorphous Si (a-Si) into high mobility poly-Si, it is limited to small areas. We here demonstrate a robust nano-droplet-scanning strategy that converts an a-Si:H thin film directly into periodic poly-Si nano-channels, with the aid of well-coordinated indium droplets. This enables the robust batch-fabrication of high performance Fin-TFTs with a high hole mobility of >100 cm2 V−1 s−1 and an excellent subthreshold swing of only 163 mV dec−1, via a low temperature <350 °C thin film process. More importantly, precise integration of tiny poly-Si channels, measuring only 60 nm in diameter and 2 μm apart on glass substrates, provides an unprecedented transparent Si-based TFT technology to visible light, which is widely sought for the next generation of high aperture displays and fully transparent electronics. The successful implementation of such a reliable nano-droplet-scanning strategy, rooted in the strength of nanoscale growth dynamics, will enable eventually the batch-manufacturing and upgrade of high performance large area electronics in general, and high definition and scalable flat-panel displays in particular.

Graphical abstract: High performance transparent in-plane silicon nanowire Fin-TFTs via a robust nano-droplet-scanning crystallization dynamics

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
20 Apr 2017
Accepted
17 Jun 2017
First published
20 Jun 2017

Nanoscale, 2017,9, 10350-10357

High performance transparent in-plane silicon nanowire Fin-TFTs via a robust nano-droplet-scanning crystallization dynamics

M. Xu, J. Wang, Z. Xue, J. Wang, P. Feng, L. Yu, J. Xu, Y. Shi, K. Chen and P. Roca i Cabarrocas, Nanoscale, 2017, 9, 10350 DOI: 10.1039/C7NR02825C

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