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Enhancing Electrical Properties of Sol-Gel Processed IGZO Thin-Film Transistors through Nitrogen Atmosphere Electron Beam Irradiation

질소분위기 전자빔 조사에 의한 졸-겔 IGZO 박막 트랜지스터의 전기적 특성 향상

  • Jeeho Park (Department of Flexible and Printable Electronics, LANL‐JBNU Engineering Institute‐Korea, Jeonbuk National University) ;
  • Young-Seok Song (Department of Flexible and Printable Electronics, LANL‐JBNU Engineering Institute‐Korea, Jeonbuk National University) ;
  • Sukang Bae (Department of JBNU-KIST Industry-Academia Convergence Research, Jeonbuk National University) ;
  • Tae-Wook Kim (Department of Flexible and Printable Electronics, LANL‐JBNU Engineering Institute‐Korea, Jeonbuk National University)
  • 박지호 (전북대학교 유연인쇄전자전문대학원 유연인쇄전자공학과) ;
  • 송영석 (전북대학교 유연인쇄전자전문대학원 유연인쇄전자공학과) ;
  • 배수강 (전북대학교 JBNU-KIST 산학연 융합학과) ;
  • 김태욱 (전북대학교 유연인쇄전자전문대학원 유연인쇄전자공학과)
  • Received : 2023.09.01
  • Accepted : 2023.09.14
  • Published : 2023.09.30

Abstract

In this paper, we studied the effect of electron beam irradiation on sol-gel indium-gallium-zinc oxide (IGZO) thin films under air and nitrogen atmosphere and carried out the electrical characterization of the s ol-gel IGZO thin film transistors (TFTs). To investigate the optical properties, crystalline structure and chemical state of the sol-gel IGZO thin films after electron beam irradiation, UV-Visible spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were carried out. The sol-gel IGZO thin films exhibited over 80% transmittance in the visible range. The XRD analysis confirmed the amorphous nature of the sol-gel IGZO films regardless of electron beam irradiation. When electron beam irradiation was conducted in a nitrogen (N2) atmosphere, we observed an increased proportion of peaks related to M-O bonding contributed to the improved quality of the thin films. Sol-gel IGZO TFTs subjected to electron beam exposure in a nitrogen atmosphere exhibited enhanced electrical characteristics in terms of on/off ratio and electron mobility. In addition, the electrical parameters of the transistor (on/off ratio, threshold voltage, electron mobility, subthreshold swing) remained relatively stable over time, indicating that the electron beam exposure process in a nitrogen atmosphere could enhance the reliability of IGZO-based thin-film transistors in the fabrication of sol-gel processed TFTs.

본 연구에서는 졸-겔 IGZO(Indium-Gallium-Zinc Oxide) 박막을 만들고 이에 전자빔을 조사 한 후 박막 트랜지스터로 제작하여 전자빔 조사가 박막 트랜지스터의 전기적 특성에 미치는 영향을 비교 분석하였다. 특히 전자빔이 조사되는 환경을 대기 중과 질소 분위기(<200 ppm O2)로 두고 전자빔 조사 선량 세기를 100kGy와 200kGy로 각각 조사한 후 350℃ 온도에서의 열처리만 진행한 비교군과 비교 분석을 진행하였다. 전자빔 조사에 따른 졸-겔 IGZO 박막의 물성 변화를 분석하기 위해 UV-Visible spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction(XRD)와 X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS)를 분석 결과, 전자빔 조사 전·후의 모든 조건 하에서 가시광 영역에서의 80% 이상의 높은 투과도를 보여줌을 확인할 수 있었고, XRD 분석 결과를 통해 전자빔 조사와 관계없이 비정질 특성을 유지함을 확인하였다. 특히 전자빔 조사에 따라 졸-겔 IGZO 박막에 화학적 조성 변화가 있음을 확인하였는데, 질소 분위기에서 전자빔을 조사하게 되면 M-O결합과 관련된 peak이 차지하는 비율이 높아짐을 확인할 수 있었다. 질소 분위기에서 전자빔이 조사된 TFT들은 on/off 비율, 전자 이동도에서 향상된 특성을 보여주었으며, 시간에 따라 트랜지스터의 특성들(on/off 비율, 문턱전압, 전자이동도, 하위임계값 스윙)의 수치 또한 큰 변화 없이 유지됨이 확인되어, 졸-겔 공정 TFT 제작에 있어서 질소 분위기에서의 전자빔 조사공정이 IGZO기반 박막 트랜지스터의 전기적특성의 개선에 기여할 수 있을 것으로 기대된다.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

본 연구는 전북대학교 학술연구비 지원에 의하여 연구되었음.

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