Issue 40, 2022

Application of a microwave synthesized ultra-smooth a-C thin film for the reduction of dielectric/semiconductor interface trap states of an oxide thin film transistor

Abstract

In high-κ dielectric-based thin-film transistors (TFTs), tailoring the surface of the gate dielectric layer is a crucial issue for the improvement of the device performance. Herein, a simple solution-processed ultra-smooth amorphous-carbon (a-C) film is applied as a surface modification layer on the top of the high-κ ion-conducting Li–Al2O3 dielectric of a bottom gated SnO2 TFT. The a-C film minimizes the surface roughness of the gate dielectric and forms a strong coordination bond between the doped nitrogen of the a-C film and tin (Sn) of the upper lying SnO2 semiconducting channel, which lowers the gate leakage current, carrier scattering and trap state density at the dielectric/semiconductor interface successfully. As a consequence, the TFT with an a-C interface shows an improvement in the carrier mobility by 6.7 times with a higher ON/OFF ratio and a lower subthreshold swing (SS) by 3.8 times. An optimized device with an a-C gate interface shows a saturation carrier mobility, ON/OFF ratio and SS value of 21.1 cm2 V−1 s−1, 7.0 × 104, and 147 mV dec−1, respectively. Moreover, a significant improvement in the cycling electrical stability has been observed which is an outcome of a reduced trap state of an a-C modified TFT.

Graphical abstract: Application of a microwave synthesized ultra-smooth a-C thin film for the reduction of dielectric/semiconductor interface trap states of an oxide thin film transistor

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
12 Jul 2022
Accepted
07 Sep 2022
First published
08 Sep 2022

J. Mater. Chem. C, 2022,10, 14905-14914

Application of a microwave synthesized ultra-smooth a-C thin film for the reduction of dielectric/semiconductor interface trap states of an oxide thin film transistor

N. Pal, B. Thakurta, R. Chakraborty, U. Pandey, V. Acharya, S. Biring, M. Pal and B. N. Pal, J. Mater. Chem. C, 2022, 10, 14905 DOI: 10.1039/D2TC02928F

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements