Improved stability of aluminum co-sputtered indium zinc oxide thin-film transistor

Abstract 1 The electrical performance and bias stability of radio-frequency magnetron co-sputtered aluminum-indium-zinc oxide (Al-IZO) thin-film transistors (TFTs) were investigated, with respect to the atomic proportions of Al. Other parameters such as the indium-zinc oxide (IZO) target power, oxygen partial pressure, and initial and process pressures of the chamber were fixed. At a low Al atomic ratio (0.62 wt.%), the electrical performance and bias stability of the Al-IZO TFT were optimized because of the suppression of the generation of oxygen vacancies and the strong bond between Al and oxygen atoms (Al–O; 501.9 kJ/mol). Compared to pure IZO TFTs, the Al-IZO TFT exhibited a small shift in the threshold voltage under bias stress conditions. A higher threshold voltage of −2.24 V and an improved subthreshold swing of 1.35 V/dec were also observed. We demonstrated that the Al-IZO TFT could be a promising candidate for switching and driving operations in mass-produced display applications.