Floating body effect in indium-gallium-zinc-oxide (IGZO) thin-film transistor (TFT)

In this paper, the floating body effect (FBE) in indium-gallium-zinc-oxide (IGZO) thin-film transistor (TFT) and the mechanism of device failure caused by that are reported for the first time. If the toggle AC pulses are applied to the gate and drain simultaneously for the switching operation, the drain current of IGZO TFT increases dramatically and cannot show the on/off switching characteristics. This phenomenon was not reported before, and our study reveals that the main cause is the formation of a conductive path between the source and drain: short failure. It is attributed in part to the donor creation at the drain region during the high voltage (Vhigh) condition and in part to the donor creation at the source region during the falling edge and low voltage (Vlow) conditions. Donor creation is attributed to the peroxide formation in the IGZO layer induced by the electrons under the high lateral field. Because the donor creation features positive charges, it lowers the threshold voltage of IGZO TFT. In detail, during the Vhigh condition, the donor creation is generated by accumulated electrons with a high lateral field at the drain region. On the other hand, the floating electrons remaining at the short falling edge (i.e., FBE of the IGZO TFT) are affected by the high lateral field at the source region during the Vlow condition. As a result, the donor creation is generated at the source region. Therefore, the short failure occurs because the donor creations are generated and expanded to channel from the drain and source region as the AC stress accumulates. In summary, the FBE in IGZO TFT is reported, and its effect on the electrical characteristics of IGZO TFT (i.e., the short failure) is rigorously analyzed for the first time.

Low-Frequency Noise Characteristics in Multi-Layer WSe₂ Field Effect Transistors with Different Contact Metals

In this work, we analyze characteristics of Ohmic, Schottky forward and reverse contact through a low-frequency noise (LFN) measurement, combining two types of metals (Pd and Au) as the source and drain (S/D) contacts that enable p-type properties in multi-layer WSe₂ field effect transistors (FETs). The LFN is one of the significant factors liming the performance of nano-scale devices such as TMDCs FETs having large surface-to-volume ratio. In addition, the LFN analysis, which relates to the device reliability, can help identify sensitive areas for current transport and evaluate the analog circuit applicability. Theoretically, the multi-layer WSe₂ has reasonable electron affinity and bandgap that can make p-channel FET using the metal with a relatively high work-function. However, it is experimentally confirmed that Schottky contact characteristics are exhibited in the multi-layer WSe₂ FETs with various metals except Pd due to the metal Fermi level pinning phenomenon. Mobility (μ_eff, ~87.5 cm²/V·s), one of the electrical performance extracted from fabricated devices with Pd as S/D electrodes shows a great difference from that (~0.572 cm²/V·s) of devices with Au as S/D electrodes. The measured electrical characteristics show that a Schottky contact is formed at an interface between Au and WSe₂ causing the higher LFN of the FETs than that of device with Pd as S/D electrodes. This characteristic is also verified by confirming the reduction of LFN due to the decreased effect of the Schottky property as the drain bias is increased.

Study on the Lateral Carrier Diffusion and Source-Drain Series Resistance in Self-Aligned Top-Gate Coplanar InGaZnO Thin-Film Transistors

We investigated the lateral distribution of the equilibrium carrier concentration (n₀) along the channel and the effects of channel length (L) on the source-drain series resistance (R_ext) in the top-gate self-aligned (TG-SA) coplanar structure amorphous indium-gallium-zinc oxide (a-IGZO) thin-film transistors (TFTs). The lateral distribution of n₀ across the channel was extracted using the paired gate-to-source voltage (V_GS)-based transmission line method and the temperature-dependent transfer characteristics obtained from the TFTs with different Ls. n₀ abruptly decreased with an increase in the distance from the channel edge near the source/drain junctions; however, much smaller gradient of n₀ was observed in the region near the middle of the channel. The effect of L on the R_ext in the TG-SA coplanar a-IGZO TFT was investigated by applying the drain current-conductance method to the TFTs with various Ls. The increase of R_ext was clearly observed with an increase in L especially at low V_GSs, which was possibly attributed to the enhanced carrier diffusion near the source/drain junctions due to the larger gradient of the carrier concentration in the longer channel devices. Because the lateral carrier diffusion and the relatively high R_ext are the critical issues in the TG-SA coplanar structure-based oxide TFTs, the results in this work are expected to be useful in further improving the electrical performance and uniformity of the TG-SA coplanar structure oxide TFTs.

Fluorinated CYTOP passivation effects on the electrical reliability of multilayer MoS₂ field-effect transistors

We demonstrated highly stable multilayer molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) field-effect transistors (FETs) with negligible hysteresis gap (ΔV(HYS) ∼ 0.15 V) via a multiple annealing scheme, followed by systematic investigation for long-term air stability with time (∼50 days) of MoS2 FETs with (or without) CYTOP encapsulation. The extracted lifetime of the device with CYTOP passivation in air was dramatically improved from 7 to 377 days, and even for the short-term bias stability, the experimental threshold voltage shift, outstandingly well-matched with the stretched exponential function, indicates that the device without passivation has approximately 25% larger the barrier distribution (ΔE(B) = k(B)T(o)) than that of a device with passivation. This work suggests that CYTOP encapsulation can be an efficient method to isolate external gas (O2 and H2O) effects on the electrical performance of FETs, especially with low-dimensional active materials like MoS2.

Water-soluble thin film transistors and circuits based on amorphous indium-gallium-zinc oxide

This paper presents device designs, circuit demonstrations, and dissolution kinetics for amorphous indium-gallium-zinc oxide (a-IGZO) thin film transistors (TFTs) comprised completely of water-soluble materials, including SiNx, SiOx, molybdenum, and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA). Collections of these types of physically transient a-IGZO TFTs and 5-stage ring oscillators (ROs), constructed with them, show field effect mobilities (∼10 cm2/Vs), on/off ratios (∼2×10(6)), subthreshold slopes (∼220 mV/dec), Ohmic contact properties, and oscillation frequency of 5.67 kHz at supply voltages of 19 V, all comparable to otherwise similar devices constructed in conventional ways with standard, nontransient materials. Studies of dissolution kinetics for a-IGZO films in deionized water, bovine serum, and phosphate buffer saline solution provide data of relevance for the potential use of these materials and this technology in temporary biomedical implants.