Low-temperature deposition of crystalline IGZO films using high-power pulsed magnetron sputtering

Low-temperature deposition of crystalline In–Ga–Zn–O (IGZO) thin films was achieved by enhancing the migration of the deposited atoms through high-density energetic ion bombardment induced by high-power pulsed magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS). Under deposition conditions with a peak power density of 1.64 kW, the IGZO thin film crystallized at a substrate temperature as low as approximately 80 °C. The optical bandgaps, determined from the optical transparency of IGZO films deposited via HiPIMS using ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy, ranged from 3.1 to 3.2 eV, closely approximating the conventional bandgap energy of amorphous-IGZO (3.2 eV). The electrical properties of IGZO thin films deposited by HiPIMS were evaluated. The transfer characteristics of thin-film transistors (TFTs) fabricated using IGZO films deposited by HiPIMS exhibit typical semiconductor-like behavior, enabling the fabrication of IGZO TFTs with a field-effect mobility of 22.4 cm2 V−1 s−1.