Preparation and Properties of Crystalline IGZO Thin Films

IGZO thin films can be used as active layers of thin-film transistors and have been widely studied. However, amorphous indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO) fabricated at room temperature is vulnerable in subsequent manufacturing processes, such as etching and sputtering; this limits IGZO thin film transistors' (TFTs) use in commercial products. In this paper, we prepared a c-axis crystallized IGZO thin film by Radio Frequency (RF) sputtering at 180 degrees C, with a 50% O-2 ratio and 110 W power. XRD images show that the crystallized film has an obvious diffraction peak near 31 degrees, and the spacing between the crystal surfaces was calculated to be approximate to 0.29 nm. The HRTEM map confirmed the above results. The stability of IGZO thin films was investigated by etching them with an acid solution. The crystalline IGZO films exhibited better acid corrosion resistance, and their anticorrosion performance was 74% higher than that of amorphous IGZO (a-IGZO) films, indicating the crystalline IGZO film can provide more stable performance in applications.

Automated summary

This study prepared a c-axis crystallized IGZO thin film by RF sputtering and found that it exhibited better acid corrosion resistance compared to amorphous IGZO films, with a 74% increase in anticorrosion performance. This suggests that crystalline IGZO thin films can provide more stable performance in applications.