Solution-Processed Rad-Hard Amorphous Metal-Oxide Thin-Film Transistors

초록

The effect of 5 MeV high-energy proton irradiation on solution-processed metal-oxide thin-film transistors (TFTs) is investigated. The electrical characteristics of the devices are measured before and after proton irradiation with radiation doses of 10(13), 10(14), and 10(15) cm(-2). TFTs based on zinc oxide (ZnO) and amorphous indium gallium zinc oxide (a-IGZO) exhibit a significant negative shift in their threshold voltage values (Delta V-th <= -30 V) or transitioned to the conductor state as the proton radiation dose increased. For a-ZnO and IGZO, this change in the electrical characteristics originates from the formation of proton-irradiation-induced oxygen vacancies in the metal-oxide semiconductor layer. On the other hand, amorphous zinc tin oxide devices with an optimized composition exhibit relatively stable electrical characteristics when subjected to proton irradiation. Furthermore, the back-channel passivation of oxide-semiconductor TFTs with an n-type organic semiconductor layer significantly improves the device stability under proton irradiation. This study demonstrates that solution-processed metal-oxide semiconductors have significant potential as rad-hard large area electronic devices for nuclear and aerospace applications.

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