Stable amorphous In2O3-based thin-film transistors by incorporating SiO2 to suppress oxygen vacancies

Incorporating SiO2 into amorphous In2O3-based thin films is found to suppress the formation of unstable oxygen vacancies. The SiO2 incorporated thin film transistors exhibited reliable device characteristics after being annealed at 250 degrees C. Increasing the SiO2 content of the sputtering target decreased the sensitivity of the subthreshold swing and turn-on voltage of the device to the sputtering conditions used to deposit the amorphous oxide, making them more stable against electrical and thermal stresses. The increased activation energy of the charge carriers in the current off region indicated a smaller density of states at the conduction-band tail, supporting stable transistor operations. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.