Influence of interface roughness on the performance of nanoparticulate zinc oxide field-effect transistors

printable field-effect transistors (FETs), which work in the n-channel enhancement mode, due to the compatibility with solution, low-temperature, and high throughput processes. Since nanoparticulate films are composed of the nanoparticles and their agglomerates, the roughness of the interface to the insulating layer, where the channel of the FETs is formed, is a critical issue. Thus, the influence of the interface roughness on the field-effect mobility of the FETs is investigated in conjunction with film roughness and capacitance analyses. The field-effect mobility increases almost by a factor of 50, from 2.0 x 10(-4) to 8.4 x 10(-3) cm(2) V(-1) s(-1), even if the reduction in the average roughness of the films is as small as 1.7 nm. (C) 2008 American Institute of Physics.