A review of recent advances in transparent p-type Cu2O-based thin film transistors

One of the crucial challenges that face the wide-spread implementation of flexible and transparent electronics is the lack of high performance p-type semiconductor material. Cu2O in thin-film form is a potentially attractive material for such applications because of its native p-type semi-conductivity, transparency, abundant availability, non-toxic nature, and low production cost. This review summarizes recent research on using copper oxide Cu2O thin films to produce p-type transparent thin-film transistors (TFTs) and complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) devices. After a short introduction about the main advantages of Cu2O semiconductor material, different methods for depositing and growing Cu2O thin films are discussed. The hi-tech development, along with the associated obstacles, of the Cu2O-based thin-film transistors is reviewed, with special emphasis on those made of sputtered Cu2O films. Finally, the bilayer scheme as one of the most exciting and promising technique for both TFTs and CMOS devices will be considered. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.