Solution-processed indium–zinc oxide with carrier-suppressing additives

AbstractMetal oxide semiconductors were considered promising materials as backplanes of future displays. Moreover, the adoption of carrier-suppressing metal into indium–zinc oxide (IZO) has become one of the most important themes in the metal oxide research field. In this paper, efforts to realize and optimize IZO with diverse types of carrier suppressors are summarized. Properties such as the band gap of metal in the oxidized form and its electronegativity were examined to confirm their relationship with the metal's carrier-suppressing ability. It was concluded that those two properties could be used as indicators of the carrier-suppressing ability of a material. As predicted by the properties, the alkali earth metals and early transition metals used in the research effectively suppressed the carrier and optimized the electrical properties of the metal oxide semiconductors. With the carrier-suppressing metals, IZO-based thin-film transistors with high (above 1 cm2/V·s) mobility, a lower than 0.6 V/dec sub-threshold gate swing, and an over 3×106 on-to-off current ratio could be achieved.