• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2012.02a
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• pp.409-409
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• 2012

모바일 및 TV, 모니터 부분에서 AMOLED의 비약적인 시장 점유율 확대와 더불어 TFT 소자 부문에서도 많은 집중과 연구개발이 이루어지고 있다. 높은 이동도를 필요로 하는 AMOLED의 구동 회로에 채널층으로서 a-Si이 낮은 이동도로 인한 한계에 부딪히며 더 이상 쓰일 수 없게 되었고, 현재 우수한 이동도와 균일성, 제조 원가 절감의 효과 등 많은 장점을 보유한 산화물 TFT가 접목되고 있다. 현재까지 IGZO, ZnO 등이 많이 연구되며 실제로 AMOLED 용 TFT 소자에 적용 되고 있다. 본 연구에서는 산화물질인 ZTO (Zinc-Tin-Oxide)를 이용하여 TFT를 제작하였다. n-type 웨이퍼에 PECVD를 이용하여 $SiO_2$를 100 nm 증착한 뒤 spin coater로 ZTO용액을 30 nm 증착하였다. ZTO의 최적화된 열처리 온도인 $450^{\circ}C$에서 annealing을 해준 다음에 thermal evaporator로 source와 drain을 증착하였다. Gate 컨택을 위하여 웨이퍼 후면에 silver paste를 이용해 소자를 완성하였다. 산화물질 특성상 환경변화에 민감한 경향성을 보이기 때문에 현재 산화물 TFT는 신뢰성 분석에 많은 연구가 진행되고 있다. 완성된 ZTO TFT 소자를 빛과 수분에 일정한 시간 노출시킨 뒤 I-V 측정을 통하여 소자 열화를 분석하였다.

• 한국정보디스플레이학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2009.10a
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• pp.1040-1043
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• 2009

a-IGZO is an attractive material to make an AMOLED device with uniform TFT properties for use in a large size display. However, this material shows TFT properties that are very sensitive to water or hydrogen. Therefore, it is essential to control these critical factors during fabrication of the backplane in order to improve the TFT performance. In this paper, we report the effect of passivation layer properties on the performance of the oxide TFTs.

• JSTS:Journal of Semiconductor Technology and Science
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.519-525
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• 2015

Positive bias stress-induced instability in amorphous indium-gallium-zinc-oxide (a-IGZO) bottom-gate thin-film transistors (TFTs) was investigated under high $V_{GS}$/low $V_{DS}$ and low $V_{GS}$/high $V_{DS}$ stress conditions through incorporating a forward/reverse $V_{GS}$ sweep and a low/high $V_{DS}$ read-out conditions. Our results showed that the electron trapping into the gate insulator dominantly occurs when high $V_{GS}$/low $V_{DS}$ stress is applied. On the other hand, when low $V_{GS}$/high $V_{DS}$ stress is applied, it was found that holes are uniformly trapped into the etch stopper and electrons are locally trapped into the gate insulator simultaneously. During a recovery after the high $V_{GS}$/low $V_{DS}$ stress, the trapped electrons were detrapped from the gate insulator. In the case of recovery after the low $V_{GS}$/high $V_{DS}$ stress, it was observed that the electrons in the gate insulator diffuse to a direction toward the source electrode and the holes were detrapped to out of the etch stopper. Also, we found that the potential profile in the a-IGZO bottom-gate TFT becomes complicatedly modulated during the positive $V_{GS}/V_{DS}$ stress and the recovery causing various threshold voltages and subthreshold swings under various read-out conditions, and this modulation needs to be fully considered in the design of oxide TFT-based active matrix organic light emitting diode display backplane.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2016.02a
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• pp.217-217
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• 2016

The amorphous InGaZnO (a-IGZO) is widely accepted as a promising channel material for thin-film transistor (TFT) applications owing to their outstanding electrical properties [1, 2]. However, a-IGZO TFTs have still suffered from their bias instability with illumination [1-4]. Up to now, many researchers have studied the sub-gap density of states (DOS) as the root cause of instability. It is well known that defect states can influence on the performances and stabilities of a-IGZO TFTs. The defects states should be closely related with the deposition condition, including sputtering power, and pressure. Nevertheless, it has not been reported how these defects are created during conventional RF magnetron sputtering. In general, during conventional RF magnetron sputtering process, negative oxygen ions (NOIs) can be generated by electron attachment in oxygen atom near target surface and then accelerated up to few hundreds eV by a self-bias; at this time, the high energy bombardment of NOIs induce defects in oxide thin films. Recently, we have reported that the properties of IGZO thin films are strongly related with effects of NOIs which are generated during the sputtering process [5]. From our previous results, the electrical characteristics and the chemical bonding states of a-IGZO thin films were depended with the bombardment energy of NOIs. And also, we suggest that the deep sub-gap states in a-IGZO as well as thin film properties would be influenced by the bombardment of high energetic NOIs during the sputtering process.In this study, we will introduce our novel technology named as Magnetic Field Shielded Sputtering (MFSS) process to prevent the NOIs bombardment effects and present how much to be improved the properties of a-IGZO thin film by this new deposition method. We deposited a-IGZO thin films by MFSS on SiO2/p-Si and glass substrate at various process conditions, after which we investigated the morphology, optical and electrical properties of the a-IGZO thin films.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2011.02a
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• pp.207-207
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• 2011

Amorphous transparent oxide semiconductors (a-TOS) have been widely studied for many optoelectronic devices such as AM-OLED (active-matrix organic light emitting diodes). Recently, Nomura et al. demonstrated high performance amorphous IGZO (In-Ga-Zn-O) TFTs.1 Despite the amorphous structure, due to the conduction band minimum (CBM) that made of spherically extended s-orbitals of the constituent metals, an a-IGZO TFT shows high mobility.2,3 But IGZO films contain high cost rare metals. Therefore, we need to investigate the alternatives. Because Aluminum has a high bond enthalpy with oxygen atom and Alumina has a high lattice energy, we try to replace Gallium with Aluminum that is high reserve low cost material. In this study, we focused on the electrical properties of IZO:Al thin films as a channel layer of TFTs. IZO:Al were deposited on unheated non-alkali glass substrates (5 cm ${\times}$ 5 cm) by magnetron co-sputtering system with two cathodes equipped with IZO target and Al target, respectively. The sintered ceramic IZO disc (3 inch ${\phi}$, 5 mm t) and metal Al target (3 inch ${\phi}$, 5 mm t) are used for deposition. The O2 gas was used as the reactive gas to control carrier concentration and mobility. Deposition was carried out under various sputtering conditions to investigate the effect of sputtering process on the characteristics of IZO:Al thin films. Correlation between sputtering factors and electronic properties of the film will be discussed in detail.

• ETRI Journal
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.660-666
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• 2009

We investigate the effects of interfacial dielectric layers (IDLs) on the electrical properties of top-gate In-Ga-Zn-oxide (IGZO) thin film transistors (TFTs) fabricated at low temperatures below $200^{\circ}C$, using a target composition of In:Ga:Zn = 2:1:2 (atomic ratio). Using four types of TFT structures combined with such dielectric materials as $Si_3N_4$ and $Al_2O_3$, the electrical properties are analyzed. After post-annealing at $200^{\circ}C$ for 1 hour in an $O_2$ ambient, the sub-threshold swing is improved in all TFT types, which indicates a reduction of the interfacial trap sites. During negative-bias stress tests on TFTs with a $Si_3N_4$ IDL, the degradation sources are closely related to unstable bond states, such as Si-based broken bonds and hydrogen-based bonds. From constant-current stress tests of $I_d$ = 3 ${\mu}A$, an IGZO-TFT with heat-treated $Si_3N_4$ IDL shows a good stability performance, which is attributed to the compensation effect of the original charge-injection and electron-trapping behavior.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.120-124
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• 2016

In this study, we fabricate transparent and bendable a-IGZO (amorphous indium gallium zinc oxide) TFTs (thin-film transistors) with a-IZO (amorphous indium zinc oxide) transparent electrodes on plastic substrates and investigate their electrical characteristics under bending states. Our a-IGZO TFTs show a high transmittance of 82% at a wavelength of 550 nm. And these TFTs have an $I_{on}/I_{off}$ ratio of $1.8{\times}10^8$, a field effect mobility of $15.4cm^2/V{\cdot}s$, and a subthreshold swing of 186 mV/dec. The good electrical characteristics are retained even after bending with a curvature radius of 18 mm corresponding to a strain of 0.5% owing to mechanical durability of the transparent electrodes used in this study.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2016.02a
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• pp.256-256
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• 2016

기존의 디스플레이 기슬은 마스크를 통해 특정 부분에만 유기재료를 증착시키는 방법을 사용하였으나, 기판의 크기가 커짐에 따라 공정조건에 제약이 발생하였다. 이를 해결하기 위해 최근 용액 공정에 대한 연구가 활발히 진행되고 있다. 용액 공정은 기존 진공 증착 방식과 비교하였을 때 상온, 대기압에서 증착이 가능하며 경제적이고, 대면적 균일 증착에 유리하다는 장점이 있다. 반면, 용액 공정으로 제작한 소자는 시간이 지남에 따라 점차 전기적 특성이 변하는 aging effect를 보인다. Aging effect는 용액에 포함된 C기와 OH기 기반의 불순물의 영향으로 시간의 경과에 따라서 문턱전압, subthreshold swing 및 mobility 등의 전기적 특성이 변하는 현상으로 고품질의 박막을 형성하기 위해서는 고온의 열처리가 필요하다. 지금까지 고품질 박막 형성을 위한 열처리는 퍼니스 (furnace) 장비에서 주로 이루어졌는데, 시간이 오래 걸리고, 상대적으로 고온 공정이기 때문에 유리, 종이, 플라스틱과 같은 다양한 기판에 적용하기 어렵다는 단점이 있다. 따라서, 본 연구에서는 $100^{\circ}C$ 이하의 저온에서도 열처리가 가능한 microwave irradiation (MWI) 방법을 이용하여 solution-processed InGaZnO TFT를 제작하였고, 기존의 열처리 방식인 furnace로 열처리한 TFT 소자와 aging effect를 비교하였다. 먼저, solution-processed IGZO TFT를 제작하기 위해 p type Si 기판을 열산화시켜서 100 nm의 SiO2 게이트 산화막을 성장시켰고, 스핀코팅 방법으로 a-IGZO 채널층을 형성하였다. 증착후 열처리를 위하여 1000 W의 마이크로웨이브 출력으로 15분간 MWI를 실시하여 a-IGZO TFT를 제작하였고, 비교를 위하여 furnace N2 gas 분위기에서 $600^{\circ}C$로 30분간 열처리한 TFT를 준비하였다. 제작된 직후의 TFT 특성을 평가한 결과, MWI 열처리한 소자가 퍼니스 열처리한 소자보다 높은 이동도, 낮은 subthreshold swing (SS)과 히스테리시스 전압을 가지는 것을 확인하였다. 한편, aging effect를 평가하기 위하여 제작 후에 30일 동안의 특성변화를 측정한 결과, MWI 열처리 소자는 30일 동안 문턱치 전압(VTH)의 변화량 ${\Delta}VTH=3.18[V]$ 변화되었지만, furnace 열처리 소자는 ${\Delta}VTH=8.56[V]$로 큰 변화가 있었다. 다음으로 SS의 변화량은 MWI 열처리 소자가 ${\Delta}SS=106.85[mV/dec]$인 반면에 퍼니스 열처리 소자는 ${\Delta}SS=299.2[mV/dec]$이었다. 그리고 전하 트래핑에 의해서 발생하는 게이트 히스테리시스 전압의 변화량은 MWI 열처리 소자에서 ${\Delta}V=0.5[V]$이었지만, 퍼니스 열처리 소자에서 ${\Delta}V=5.8[V]$의 큰 수치를 보였다. 결과적으로 MWI 열처리 방식이 퍼니스 열처리 방식보다 소자의 성능이 우수할 뿐만 아니라 aging effect가 개선된 것을 확인할 수 있었고 차세대 디스플레이 공정에 있어서 전기적, 화학적 특성을 개선하는데 기여할 것으로 기대된다.

• JSTS:Journal of Semiconductor Technology and Science
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.239-244
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• 2017

We experimentally investigate the physical mechanism for asymmetrical degradation in amorphous indium-gallium-zinc oxide (a-IGZO) thin-film transistors (TFTs) under simultaneous gate and drain bias stresses. The transfer curves exhibit an asymmetrical negative shift after the application of gate-to-source ($V_{GS}$) and drain-to-source ($V_{DS}$) bias stresses of ($V_{GS}=24V$, $V_{DS}=15.9V$) and ($V_{GS}=22V$, $V_{DS}=20V$), but the asymmetrical degradation is more significant after the bias stress ($V_{GS}$, $V_{DS}$) of (22 V, 20 V) nevertheless the vertical electric field at the source is higher under the bias stress ($V_{GS}$, $V_{DS}$) of (24 V, 15.9 V) than (22 V, 20 V). By using the modified external load resistance method, we extract the source contact resistance ($R_S$) and the voltage drop at $R_S$ ($V_{S,\;drop}$) in the fabricated a-IGZO TFT under both bias stresses. A significantly higher RS and $V_{S,\;drop}$ are extracted under the bias stress ($V_{GS}$, $V_{DS}$) of (22 V, 20V) than (24 V, 15.9 V), which implies that the high horizontal electric field across the source contact due to the large voltage drop at the reverse biased Schottky junction is the dominant physical mechanism causing the asymmetrical degradation of a-IGZO TFTs under simultaneous gate and drain bias stresses.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2012.02a
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• pp.394-395
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• 2012

본 연구에서는 게이트 절연막 $SiO_2$가 증착된 Si 기판위에 스퍼터링 방식으로 투명산화막반도체 a-IGZO타겟을 사용하여 채널층을 형성하고, a-IZO타겟으로 소스/드레인층을 형성하여 박막트랜지스터를 제작하였다. 채널층의 두께 20 nm, 50 nm,100 nm에 따른 전기적인 특성을 평가하였으며, 두께 따라 문턱전압의 변화를 확인하였다. 제작된 a-IGZO 박막트랜지스터는 높은 전자이동도와 스위칭특성을 보여주었다.