Review of recent developments in amorphous oxide semiconductor thin-film transistor devices

The present article is a review of the recent progress and major trends in the field of thin-film transistor (TFT) research involving the use of amorphous oxide semiconductors (AOS). First, an overview is provided on how electrical performance may be enhanced by the adoption of specific device structures and process schemes, the combination of various oxide semiconductor materials, and the appropriate selection of gate dielectrics and electrode metals in contact with the semiconductor. As metal oxide TFT devices are excellent candidates for switching or driving transistors in next generation active matrix liquid crystal displays (AMLCD) or active matrix organic light emitting diode (AMOLED) displays, the major parameters of interest in the electrical characteristics involve the field effect mobility (mu(FE)), threshold voltage (V-th), and subthreshold swing (SS). A study of the stability of amorphous oxide TFT devices is presented next. Switching or driving transistors in AMLCD or AMOLED displays inevitably involves voltage bias or constant current stress upon prolonged operation, and in this regard many research groups have examined and proposed device degradation mechanisms under various stress conditions. The most recent studies involve stress experiments in the presence of visible light irradiating the semiconductor, and different degradation mechanisms have been proposed with respect to photon radiation. The last part of this review consists of a description of methods other than conventional vacuum deposition techniques regarding the formation of oxide semiconductor films, along with some potential application fields including flexible displays and information storage. (c) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.