Numerical Analysis of Oxygen-Related Defects in Amorphous In-W-O Nanosheet Thin-Film Transistor

The integration of 4 nm thick amorphous indium tungsten oxide (a-IWO) and a hafnium oxide (HfO2) high-kappa gate dielectric has been demonstrated previously as one of promising amorphous oxide semiconductor (AOS) thin-film transistors (TFTs). In this study, the more positive threshold voltage shift ( increment V-TH) and reduced I-ON were observed when increasing the oxygen ratio during a-IWO deposition. Through simple material measurements and Technology Computer Aided Design (TCAD) analysis, the distinct correlation between different chemical species and the corresponding bulk and interface density of states (DOS) parameters were systematically deduced, validating the proposed physical mechanisms with a quantum model for a-IWO nanosheet TFT. The effects of oxygen flow on oxygen interstitial (O-i) defects were numerically proved for modulating bulk dopant concentration N-d and interface density of Gaussian acceptor trap N-GA at the front channel, significantly dominating the transfer characteristics of a-IWO TFT. Furthermore, based on the studies of density functional theory (DFT) for the correlation between formation energy E-f of O-i defect and Fermi level (E-F) position, we propose a numerical methodology for monitoring the possible concentration distribution of O-i as a function of a bias condition for AOS TFTs.

Automated summary

This study found that increasing the oxygen ratio during a-IWO deposition results in a more positive threshold voltage shift and reduced I-ON. Through material measurements and TCAD analysis, it was validated that the transfer characteristics of a-IWO TFT are significantly affected by oxygen flow modulation of O-i defects.