(Invited) Oxide TFT Applications: Principles and Challenges

Abstract

The main advantage of the thin film transistor (TFT) is that it can be fabricated on non-wafer substrate independent of the size, flexibility, and morphology. All composing films of the TFT are deposited at the low temperature. Therefore, TFTs can be applied to a broad range of consumer, biological, chemical, and optical products that are difficult to fabricate with the wafer based MOSFETs.There are many reports on a-Si:H and poly-Si TFT applications in displays, imagers, sensors, drivers, flexible electronics, and circuits (1,2). In principle, oxide TFTs can be applied to similar products. However, since the device characteristics and compositing materials of the oxide TFT are different from those of the a-Si:H and poly- Si TFTs, as shown in Figure 1 and Table 1, there are advantages and disadvantages in former’s applications. In this presentation, oxide TFT applications in the following three areas will be discussed. Control of the attached device, such as pixel-driving in displays,Integrated circuits, such as drivers or inverters, andChanging of characteristics with environment, such as pH, optical, and temperature sensors. L. Antonuk, Chapt. 10, and Y. Kuo, Chapt. 11, Amorphous Silicon Thin Film Transistors, pp. 395-505, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2004.B.-D. Choi, et al., Chapt. 11-13, Polycrystalline Silicon Thin Film Transistors, Y. Kuo Editor, pp. 360-495, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2004.Kuo and G. W. Chang, ECS Trans, 64(10), 145-153 (2014). Figure 1