Application of high-k gate dielectric multilayer Al2O3/TiO2/Al2O3 anodized film in IGZO thin-film transistors
摘要
In this study, a novel Al2O3/TiO2/Al2O3 composite film (AOTO) with high breakdown strength and a high-k value was successfully fabricated by magnetron sputtering and anodic oxidation techniques and was first employed in indium gallium zinc oxide thin film transistors (IGZO TFTs) as a gate dielectric layer. Compared to traditional single-layer aluminum oxide films (AO), IGZO TFTs with AOTO (5) (TiO2 layer of 5 nm) as the gate dielectric layer not only had the advantage of high breakdown strength (604.3 MV/m) but also significantly enhanced the device's electrical performance. Specifically, the on/off current ratio increased from 7.2 × 107 to 1.58 × 109, the subthreshold swing improved from 0.22 to 0.15 V/decade, the saturation mobility increased from 12.37 to 14.30 cm2/V∙s, and the threshold voltage (Vth) decreased from 2.81 to 1.21 V. And the IGZO: AOTO(5) TFT exhibited excellent stability with a small Vth shift (ΔVth) of 0.21(− 0.18) under the conditions of gate bias stress test. During the anodizing process under a critical electric field, the atoms or ions in the AOTO film are rearranged adaptively, and the defects in the film are repaired through ion transport, thus forming a stable structure. The design of AOTO film prepared by magnetron sputtering and anodic oxidation techniques in this paper provides a new way to improve the electrical properties and stability of IGZO TFT.