Low-temperature, high-performance, solution-processed indium oxide thin-film transistors

Abstract

Solution-processed In(2)O(3) thin-film transistors (TFTs) were fabricated by a spin-coating process using a metal halide precursor, InCl(3), dissolved in acetonitrile. A thin and uniform film can be controlled and formed by adding ethylene glycol. The synthesized In(2)O(3) thin films were annealed at various temperatures ranging from 200 to 600 °C in air or in an O(2)/O(3) atmospheric environment. The TFTs annealed at 500 °C under air exhibited a high field-effect mobility of 55.26 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) and an I(on)/I(off) current ratio of 10(7). In(2)O(3) TFTs annealed under an O(2)/O(3) atmosphere at temperatures from 200 to 300 °C exhibited excellent n-type transistor behaviors with field-effect mobilities of 0.85-22.14 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) and I(on)/I(off) ratios of 10(5)-10(6). The annealing atmosphere of O(2)/O(3) elevates solution-processed In(2)O(3) TFTs to higher performance at lower processing temperature.