Improved Photo-Induced Stability in Amorphous Metal-Oxide Based TFTs for Transparent Displays

In this paper, we investigate the origin of photo-induced instability in amorphous metal-oxide based thin-film transistors (oxide-TFTs) by exploring threshold voltage (Vth) shift in transfer characteristics. The combination of photo irradiation and prolonged gate bias stress enhanced the shift in Vth in amorphous hafnium-indium-zinc-oxide (a-HfIZO) TFTs. Such results stem from the extended trapped charges at the localized defect states related to oxygen vacancy which play a role in a screening effect on the electric field induced by gate voltage. We also demonstrate the chemically clean interface in oxide-TFTs by employing oxygen annealing which reduces the density of trap states, thereby resulting in improved photo-induced stability. We believe that this work stimulates the research society of transparent electronics by providing a promising approach to suppress photo-induced instability in metal-oxide TFTs.