Electron traps in amorphous In–Ga–Zn–O thin films studied by isothermal capacitance transient spectroscopy

Electron traps in amorphous In–Ga–Zn–O (a-IGZO) thin films were studied using isothermal capacitance transient spectroscopy (ICTS). Broad peaks that shifted toward a longer elapsed time with an increase in the filling pulse width were detected from the ICTS spectra for metal-oxide-semiconductor diodes consisting of a Mo/SiO2/a-IGZO structure. The time constant of the peak position at 180 K was found to be from ∼1 m to ∼100 ms, corresponding to a range of energy level from ∼170 to ∼230 meV below the conduction band edge. The total trap density around the peak was estimated to be ∼1 × 1016 cm−3·eV−1. Further, according to the biasing voltage dependence of the ICTS signal, the density of the trap states increases by about three orders of magnitude near the interface between the a-IGZO and the gate dielectric layers. The electron transport in electronic devices using an a-IGZO could be influenced by the trap states detected in the present study.