Abstract
Recently, growing interest in implantable bionics and biochemical sensors spurred the research for developing non-conventional electronics with excellent device characteristics at low operation voltages and prolonged device stability under physiological conditions. Herein, we report high-performance aqueous electrolyte-gated thin-film transistors using a sol-gel amorphous metal oxide semiconductor and aqueous electrolyte dielectrics based on small ionic salts. The proper selection of channel material (i.e., indium-gallium-zinc-oxide) and precautious passivation of non-channel areas enabled the development of simple but highly stable metal oxide transistors manifested by low operation voltages within 0.5 V, high transconductance of ~1.0 mS, large current on-off ratios over 107, and fast inverter responses up to several hundred hertz without device degradation even in physiologically-relevant ionic solutions. In conjunction with excellent transistor characteristics, investigation of the electrochemical nature of the metal oxide-electrolyte interface may contribute to the development of a viable bio-electronic platform directly interfacing with biological entities in vivo.
Highlights
Growing interest in implantable bionics and biochemical sensors spurred the research for developing non-conventional electronics with excellent device characteristics at low operation voltages and prolonged device stability under physiological conditions
Sol-gel derived amorphous metal-oxide (MOx) semiconductors have been intensively studied for a variety of applications including displays[1,2,3,4], sensors[5,6], memories[7,8], and photovoltaics[9,10,11] with a recent emphasis on flexible transparent electronics[12,13,14,15,16]
We report low-voltage Electrolyte-gated thin-film transistor (EGTFT) using a sol-gel derived amorphous indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO) semiconductor and various aqueous solutions of common ionic salts
Summary
Dielectric medium Water KCl (0.1 M) KCl (0.5 M) KCl (1.0 M) KCl (2.0 M) KCl (1.0 M) NaCl (1.0 M) KBr (1.0 M). We demonstrate very stable high-performance electrolyte-gated thin-film transistors using sol-gel amorphous IGZO semiconductor and aqueous salt dielectrics (KCl, NaCl, KBr ions in water, and PBS solution) showing sub-0.5 V operation, high on-off current ratio, excellent transconductance, and clear pinch-off behaviour. We expect that such an excellent electrical performance and long-term operational stability (up to 8 hrs) of the aqueous IGZO EGTFTs may contribute to the development of future human-friendly bio-electronics such as reusable/in-vivo biochemical sensors and implantable bionics
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