ZnO:H indium-free transparent conductive electrodes for active-matrix display applications

Transparent conductive electrodes based on hydrogen (H)-doped zinc oxide (ZnO) have been proposed for active-matrix (AM) display applications. When fabricated with optimal H plasma power and optimal plasma treatment time, the resulting ZnO:H films exhibit low sheet resistance of 200 Omega/square and high average transmission of 85% at a film thickness of 150 nm. The demonstrated transparent conductive ZnO:H films can potentially replace indium-tin-oxide and serve as pixel electrodes for organic light-emitting diodes as well as source/drain electrodes for ZnO-based thin-film transistors. Use of the proposed ZnO:H electrodes means that two photomask stages can be removed from the fabrication process flow for ZnO-based AM backplanes. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.