Influence of the Amorphous Silicon Thickness on Top Gate Thin-Film Transistor Electrical Performances

We have analyzed the influence of the hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) thickness on the electrical performances of top gate thin-film transistors (TFTs). We have observed that, when the a-Si:H thickness increases, the threshold voltage and the subthreshold slope decrease. The modification of the TFT apparent field-effect mobility has also been investigated: we have shown that it first increases with the a-Si:H thickness, and then decreases for thicker a-Si:H films. This change of electrical performances is most likely associated with both the variation of a-Si:H microstructure during the film depositions and the effect of parasitic source and drain series resistances. We have demonstrated that for a given TFT geometry, it is therefore possible to define an optimum a-Si:H thickness ensuring maximum TFT electrical performances, and that this optimum thickness increases significantly with the TFT channel length.