Abstract
There has been growing interest in the use of the sol-gel approach to form high-quality dielectric materials. Their tailored properties allow for developing functional electronic devices in a scalable and rapid manner. According to physicochemical principles, the displacement and response behavior of charges under an applied external field can manifest in unique dielectric properties, providing useful information to improve the process, design, and quality of electronic devices. Therefore, a systematic and in-depth investigation of the fundamentals of sol-gel dielectrics is necessary. In this Research Update, we present recent advances in various sol-gel-processed dielectric materials and their applications to functional electronic devices. A brief introduction to sol-gel chemistry to form oxide dielectric films and the basis of physical mechanisms under electrical fields are discussed. Along with the dielectric properties, recent achievements of proof-of-concept experiments and their various applications to functional electronic devices are introduced. It is expected that further innovations in solution-processed metal oxide dielectrics will achieve cost-effective high-performance functional electronics in the near future.
Highlights
Since the studies of Ebelman and Graham[1] on the formation of silica-based materials from chemical solutions in the mid1800s, considerable advancements in the sol-gel method have been made for the synthesis of functional metal oxides, including a broad range of applications.[2]
We have reviewed recent research advancements in solutionprocessed metal oxide dielectric materials
In comparison with our previous review,[4] this Research Update comprehensively covered the practical use of the dielectric layer in various electronics: (1) three-terminal-based devices such as a gate dielectric layer for field-effect transistors and (2) two-terminal-based devices, such as resistive, ferroelectric memory, and phase switching electronic devices
Summary
Since the studies of Ebelman and Graham[1] on the formation of silica-based materials from chemical solutions in the mid1800s, considerable advancements in the sol-gel method have been made for the synthesis of functional metal oxides, including a broad range of applications.[2]. There exist few reviews that comprehensively encompass the developments of various functional oxide materials and enlargement of research fields for solution-processed oxide dielectric films and address the mainstream of the technological progress and trends as a broad outlook In this regard, we review recent research progress on solutionprocessed metal oxide dielectrics and their various electronic device applications from a literature survey over the past five years: (i) three-terminal-based devices such as a gate dielectric layer for a field-effect transistor (Sec. II) and (ii) two-terminal-based devices such as memory devices, including the types of resistive switching behaviors (Sec. III), ferroelectric functionalities (Sec. IV), and phase transition behaviors (Sec. V) (Fig. 1). While there have been many recent reviews on sol-gel metal oxide semiconducting materials in the application of thin-film-transistors, including the p-type active layer,[22,23] chemical solution synthesis,[4,24,25,26] low-temperature processing,[7,27,28,29] and miscellaneous device applications,[16,30,31,32] here, we aim at reviewing ongoing and future research development in solution-derived metal oxide dielectric thin films by (1) providing fundamental insights into the mechanism of sol-gel chemistry and (2) facilitating their practical application and commercialization in many fields of electronic and energy technology, such as complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) integrated logic circuits, sensors, and energy storage/conversion devices
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