Abstract
In the present work, we testify a strategy to achieve high-performance ZnO thin film transistors (TFTs) on a flexible PET substrate at a maximum process temperature no more than 100 °C. Interestingly, the ZnO TFTs exhibit superior electrical properties, including a field-effect mobility of 14.32 cm <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup> V <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">-1</sup> s <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">-1</sup> , a sub-threshold swing of 0.21 V/decade, and an on-to-off current ratio of 3.03 × 10 <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">7</sup> . Also, ideal uniformity, hysteresis property, contact resistance, and stability are achieved. Threshold voltage shift (ΔV <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">TH</sub> ) under positive and negative bias stress are 0.17 and -0.18 V, respectively. Moreover, the ZnO TFTs manifest good mechanical performance at a bending radius of 10 mm. We expect that our findings propel practical application of the oxide TFTs in flexible electronics.
Highlights
During the past decade, rapid progress has been made in the field of flexible electronics, which drives development of novel applications such as electronic skin, wearable sensors, imperceptible implants, and flexible display [1]–[5]
The above transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy dispersive X-ray detector (EDX) results demonstrate that high-quality interface between the ZnO active layer and Al2O3 dielectric can be formed by Atomic layer deposition (ALD) process at a temperature of 100 ◦C
The electrical performance results manifest that lowtemperature strategy which we proposed is effective for realizing ZnO thin film transistors (TFTs) with high performance and stability on flexible PET substrates
Summary
Rapid progress has been made in the field of flexible electronics, which drives development of novel applications such as electronic skin, wearable sensors, imperceptible implants, and flexible display [1]–[5] These innovative applications have the potential to enhance our living quality, more stringent requirements are proposed to the electronic devices that they utilize. The oxide TFTs need to be subject to a post-annealing treatment at a temperature equal to or higher than 300 ◦C to optimize electrical properties and stability [9], [10], which limits the fabrication of them on cost-effective flexible substrates like PET, PEN, and PC [11], [12]. Thereby, it is urgently in need to develop process methods for fabricating the high-performance oxide TFTs at a low temperature.
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