Enhanced electrical characteristics and stability via simultaneous ultraviolet and thermal treatment of passivated amorphous In-Ga-Zn-O thin-film transistors

We developed a method to improve the electrical performance and stability of passivated amorphous In-Ga-Zn-O thin-film transistors by simultaneous ultraviolet and thermal (SUT) treatment. SUT treatment was carried out on fully fabricated thin-film transistors, including deposited source/drain and passivation layers. Ultraviolet (UV) irradiation disassociated weak and diatomic chemical bonds and generated defects, and simultaneous thermal annealing rearranged the defects. The SUT treatment promoted densification and condensation of the channel layer by decreasing the concentration of oxygen-vacancy-related defects and increasing the concentration of metal-oxide bonds. The SUT-treated devices exhibited improved electrical properties compared to nontreated devices: field-effect mobility increased from 5.46 to 13.36 V·s, sub-threshold swing decreased from 0.49 to 0.32 V/decade, and threshold voltage shift (for positive bias temperature stress) was reduced from 5.1 to 1.9 V.