Enhanced adhesion and performance of the source/drain electrode using a single-layered Ag(Cu) film for an amorphous silicon thin-film transistor

The feasibility of using a Ag(Cu) alloy film as a source/drain electrode for thin-film transistor (TFT) liquid-crystal displays has been investigated. The annealing of a Ag(Cu)/Si structure, for 30 min at 200 °C, produced a uniform Cu3Si layer at the Ag(Cu)–Si interface, as a result of the reaction of the segregated Cu with Si. This lowered the resistivity from 5.3 to 3.2 μΩ cm, which also led to improved adhesion properties. A hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) TFT was fabricated using a single layer of Ag (19 at. % Cu) alloy film as the source/drain metal. The subthreshold slope, mobility, and threshold voltage obtained from the fabricated a-Si:H TFT were 0.78 V/dec, 0.79 cm2/V s, and 2 V, respectively, revealing a reduction in the process steps, with excellent performance.