Inkjet-Printed Narrow-Channel Mesoporous Oxide-Based n-Type TFTs and All-Oxide CMOS Electronics

Oxide semiconductors are becoming the materials of choice for modern-day display industries. The performance of solution-processed oxide thin film transistors (TFTs) has also improved dramatically over the last few years. However, while oxygen deficient n-type semiconductors can demonstrate excellent electronic transport, the performance of p-type materials has remained unsatisfactory. Consequently, only the n-type semiconductor-based pseudo-complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology has attracted tremendous interests recently; yet, the high power dissipation remains a problem. Here, this work demonstrates all-oxide CMOS invertors with high-performance narrow-channel n-type TFTs, which can compensate for the limited carrier mobility of the p-type transistors. These n-type TFTs are fabricated with polymer-templated mesoporous In2O3 and with a device geometry that allows near-vertical current transport, thereby rendering the TFT channel lengths to be equal to the semiconductor film thickness (approximate to 50 nm). Unprecedented On-current (1.02 mA mu m(-1)) and transconductance (950 mu S mu m(-1)) are achieved. The CuO-based p-type TFTs also show a device mobility of no less than 0.5 cm(2) V-1 s(-1). The printed all-oxide CMOS inverters are found to operate at very low supply voltages and demonstrate sharp transfer curves with maximum signal gain of 31 and low power dissipation of only 4 nW, at a supply voltage of 1 V.

Automated summary

Oxide semiconductors are increasingly used in modern display industries, with all-oxide CMOS inverters showing high performance narrow-channel n-type TFTs to compensate for the limited carrier mobility of p-type transistors. This advancement has led to unprecedented on-current and transconductance in the TFTs, along with low power dissipation and sharp transfer curves in the inverters.