Electrical dependence on the chemical composition of the gate dielectric in indium gallium zinc oxide thin-film transistors

Bottom-gate thin-film transistors were fabricated by depositing a 50 nm InGaZnO (IGZO) channel layer at 150 °C on three separate gate dielectric films: (1) thermal SiO2, (2) plasma-enhanced chemical-vapor deposition (PECVD) SiNx, and (3) a PECVD SiOx/SiNx dual-dielectric. X-ray photoelectron and photoluminescence spectroscopy showed the Vo concentration was dependent on the hydrogen concentration of the underlying dielectric film. IGZO films on SiNx (high Vo) and SiO2 (low Vo) had the highest and lowest conductivity, respectively. A PECVD SiOx/SiNx dual-dielectric layer was effective in suppressing hydrogen diffusion from the nitride layer into the IGZO and resulted in higher resistivity films.