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Characterization of amorphous zinc tin oxide semiconductors

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 June 2012

Jaana S. Rajachidambaram ,
Shail Sanghavi ,
Ponnusamy Nachimuthu ,
Vaithiyalingam Shutthanandan ,
Tamas Varga ,
Brendan Flynn ,
Suntharampillai Thevuthasan  and
Gregory S. Herman
Jaana S. Rajachidambaram
Affiliation:
School of Chemical, Biological, and Environmental Engineering, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97331
Shail Sanghavi
Affiliation:
Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99352
Ponnusamy Nachimuthu
Affiliation:
Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99352
Vaithiyalingam Shutthanandan
Affiliation:
Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99352
Tamas Varga
Affiliation:
Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99352
Brendan Flynn
Affiliation:
School of Chemical, Biological, and Environmental Engineering, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97331
Suntharampillai Thevuthasan
Affiliation:
Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99352
Gregory S. Herman*
Affiliation:
School of Chemical, Biological, and Environmental Engineering, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97331
*
a)Address all correspondence to this author. e-mail: greg.herman@oregonstate.edu
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Abstract

Amorphous zinc tin oxide (ZTO) was investigated to determine the effect of deposition and postannealing conditions on film structure, composition, surface contamination, and thin-film transistor (TFT) performance. X-ray diffraction results indicated that the ZTO films remain amorphous even after annealing to 600 °C. Rutherford backscattering spectrometry indicated that the bulk Zn:Sn ratio of the sputter-deposited films were slightly tin rich compared to the composition of the ceramic sputter target. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicated that residual surface contamination depended strongly on the sample postannealing conditions where water, carbonate, and hydroxyl species were adsorbed to the surface. Electrical characterization of ZTO TFTs indicated that the best devices had mobilities of 17 cm2/Vs, threshold voltages of −1.5 V, subthreshold slopes of 0.9 V/dec, turn-on voltages of −12 V, and on-to-off ratio of >107. Annealing ZTO in vacuum assisted in the removal of adsorbed species, which may reduce defects in the films and improve device performance.

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Articles
Information
Journal of Materials Research , Volume 27 , Issue 17: Focus Issue: Oxide Semiconductors , 14 September 2012 , pp. 2309 - 2317
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2012

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