Enhanced performance of In2O3nanowire field effect transistors with controllable surface functionalization of Ag nanoparticles

Indium oxide (In2O3) nanowire field effect transistors (FETs) have great potential in electronic and sensor applications owing to their suitable band width and high electron mobility. However, the In(2)O(3)nanowire FETs reported previously were operated in a depletion-mode, not suitable to the integrated circuits result of the high-power consumption. Therefore, tuning the electrical properties of In(2)O(3)nanowire FETs into enhancement-mode is critical for the successful application in the fields of high-performance electronics, optoelectronics and detectors. In the work, a simple but effective strategy was carried out by preparing Ag nanoparticle functionalized In(2)O(3)NWs to regulate the threshold voltage (V-th) of In2O3NW FETs, successfully achieving enhanced-mode devices. The threshold voltage can be regulated from -6.9 V to +7 V by controlling Ag density via deposition time. In addition, the devices exhibited high performance: huge I-on/I(off)ratio > 10(8), large maximum saturation current approximate to 800 mA and excellent carrier mobility approximate to 129 cm(2)Vcs(-1). The enhanced performance is attributed to the surface passivation by Ag nanoparticles to reduce the density of traps and the charge transfer between traps and the nanowires to regulate the V-th. The result indicates the application of metal nanoparticles significantly improve oxide NW for low-power FETs.