Low-Temperature Fabrication of IZO Thin Film for Flexible Transistors

Solution-processed thin film transistors (TFTs) used in flexible electronics require them to be fabricated under low temperature. Ultraviolet (UV) treatment is an effective method to transform the solution precursors into dense semiconductor films. In our work, high-quality indium zinc oxide (IZO) thin films were prepared from nitrate-based precursors after UV treatment at room temperature. After UV treatment, the structure of IZO thin films was gradually rearranged, resulting in good M-O-M network formation and bonds. TFTs using IZO as a channel layer were also fabricated on Si and Polyimide (PI) substrate. The field effect mobility, threshold voltage (V_th), and subthreshold swing (SS) for rigid and flexible IZO TFTs are 14.3 and 9.5 cm²/Vs, 1.1 and 1.7 V, and 0.13 and 0.15 V/dec., respectively. This low-temperature processed route will definitely contribute to flexible electronics fabrication.