Publications

A thin-film transistor (TFT) using amorphous indium–gallium–zinc oxide (a-IGZO) as an active layer is annealed at 300 °C after deposition and then treated with oxygen plasma. To analyze the effect of radio frequency (RF) power of the plasma generator on the a-IGZO TFT, as-deposited and plasma-treated devices using RF power levels of 60, 120, and 180 W are fabricated and characterized. It is demonstrated that the RF power setting of the plasma generator influences the threshold voltage (V th), electron mobility, on/off current ratio and subthreshold swing of the devices alongside the transmittance and absorption coefficient of the a-IGZO layer. The a-IGZO TFT with oxygen plasma treatment at 60 W shows the best performance with a V th of 0.4 V, electron mobility of 14.8 cm2 V−1 s−1, an on/off current ratio of 4.8 × 108, and a subthreshold swing of 0.6 V dec−1. In addition, compared to the as-deposited device, the bandgap widens from 3.65 to 3.72 eV, and the absorption coefficient of the 2.0–3.7 eV energy range decreases, which is due to the decreased density of tail states, and that improves electron mobility. When the RF power applied in the oxygen plasma treatment is increased to 120 and 180 W, the optical, electrical, and surface characteristics deteriorate.