title: High-Quality Solution-Processed Silicon Oxide Gate Dielectric Applied on Indium Oxide Based Thin-Film Transistors.
abstract: A silicon oxide gate dielectric was synthesized by a facile sol-gel reaction and applied to solution-processed indium oxide based thin-film transistors (TFTs). The SiOx sol-gel was spin-coated on highly doped silicon substrates and converted to a dense dielectric film with a smooth surface at a maximum processing temperature of T = 350 °C. The synthesis was systematically improved, so that the solution-processed silicon oxide finally achieved comparable break downfield strength (7 MV/cm) and leakage current densities (<10 nA/cm(2) at 1 MV/cm) to thermally grown silicon dioxide (SiO2). The good quality of the dielectric layer was successfully proven in bottom-gate, bottom-contact metal oxide TFTs and compared to reference TFTs with thermally grown SiO2. Both transistor types have field-effect mobility values as high as 28 cm(2)/(Vs) with an on/off current ratio of 10(8), subthreshold swings of 0.30 and 0.37 V/dec, respectively, and a threshold voltage close to zero. The good device performance could be attributed to the smooth dielectric/semiconductor interface and low interface trap density. Thus, the sol-gel-derived SiO2 is a promising candidate for a high-quality dielectric layer on many substrates and high-performance large-area applications.
authors.affiliation: †Evonik Industries AG, 45772 Marl, Germany.|‡Lehrstuhl für Werkstoffe und Nanoelektronik, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, 44801 Bochum, Germany.
authors.forename: Felix
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Jaehnike
authors.affiliation: †Evonik Industries AG, 45772 Marl, Germany.
authors.forename: Duy Vu
authors.initials: DV
authors.lastname: Pham
authors.affiliation: †Evonik Industries AG, 45772 Marl, Germany.
authors.forename: Ralf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Anselmann
authors.affiliation: ‡Lehrstuhl für Werkstoffe und Nanoelektronik, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, 44801 Bochum, Germany.
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bock
authors.affiliation: ‡Lehrstuhl für Werkstoffe und Nanoelektronik, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, 44801 Bochum, Germany.
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Kunze
keywords: high mobility; indium oxide; silicon oxide; solution-processed; sol−gel; thin-film transistor