Poole-Frenkel behavior in amorphous oxide thin-film transistors prepared on SiOC

Abstract

The electron behavior in amorphous indium-gallium-zinc-oxide thin film transistors (a-IGZO TFTs) depends on the polar characteristics of SiOC, which is used as a gate dielectric. The properties of the interface between the semiconductor and SiOC were defined by using a Schottky contact with a low potential barrier and Poole-Frenkel contacts with a high potential barrier. The leakage current of SiOC, which was used as a gate insulator, decreased at the Poole-Frenkel contacts because of the high potential barrier. The ambipolar properties in the field effect transistor were observed to depend on the various characteristics of SiOC, which ranged from its behaving as an ideal insulator or as a material with a high dielectric constant. The resistance of the a-IGZO channel changed from positive to negative at SiOC, which had the lowest polarity. As to the conduction due to the diffusion current, the mobility increased with increasing carrier concentrations. However, the drift carrier conduction was related to the reduced mobility at higher carrier concentrations. The performance of the transistors was enhanced by the tunneling and the diffusion currents Rather than by the drift current caused by trapping. The Schottky contact and the Poole-Frenkel (PF) contacts at an interface between the IGZO channel and the SiOC were defined according to the heights of potential barriers caused by the depletion layer. The leakage current was very low about 10−12 A at SiOC with PF contacts because of the height of potential barrier was double that with a Schottky contact because the tunneling conductance due to the diffusion current originated from the PF contacts of non-polar SiOC.