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. 2023 Feb 24;16(5):1868.
doi: 10.3390/ma16051868.

Sensitivity of Al-Doped Zinc-Oxide Extended Gate Field Effect Transistors to Low-Dose X-ray Radiation

Amal Mohamed Ahmed Ali  1 , Naser M Ahmed  1   2 , Norlaili A Kabir  1 , Ahmad M Al-Diabat  3 , Natheer A Algadri  4 , Ahmed Alsadig  5 , Osamah A Aldaghri  6 , Khalid H Ibnaouf  6
Affiliations

Sensitivity of Al-Doped Zinc-Oxide Extended Gate Field Effect Transistors to Low-Dose X-ray Radiation

Amal Mohamed Ahmed Ali et al. Materials (Basel). .

Abstract

Herein, we investigated the applicability of thick film and bulk disk forms of aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) for low-dose X-ray radiation dosimetry using the extended gate field effect transistor (EGFET) configuration. The samples were fabricated using the chemical bath deposition (CBD) technique. A thick film of AZO was deposited on a glass substrate, while the bulk disk form was prepared by pressing the collected powders. The prepared samples were characterized via X-ray diffraction (XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) to determine the crystallinity and surface morphology. The analyses show that the samples are crystalline and comprise nanosheets of varying sizes. The EGFET devices were exposed to different X-ray radiation doses, then characterized by measuring the I-V characteristics pre- and post-irradiation. The measurements revealed an increase in the values of drain-source currents with radiation doses. To study the detection efficiency of the device, various bias voltages were also tested for the linear and saturation regimes. Performance parameters of the devices, such as sensitivity to X-radiation exposure and different gate bias voltage, were found to depend highly on the device geometry. The bulk disk type appears to be more radiation-sensitive than the AZO thick film. Furthermore, boosting the bias voltage increased the sensitivity of both devices.

Keywords: AZO; EGFET; MOSFET; chemical bath deposition; radiation detector.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematics illustrating the EGFET connection setup and the key components used for this work: a commercial MOSFET (CD4007UB) is connected to the sensing component (the fabricated semiconductor gates) which interacts directly with X-ray radiation. The sensing layer was exposed to X-rays before being attached to the measuring equipment, then examined using a Keithley 2400 and Lab Tracer 2 software.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The steps followed for the preparation of AZO via CBD approach.
Figure 3
Figure 3
SEM micrograph displaying the cross section of the AZO thick film.
Figure 4
Figure 4
XRD patterns of AZO for (A) thick film and (B) disk type samples used in this work.
Figure 5
Figure 5
FESEM images with EDX of AZO for (A) thick film and (B) disk type samples.
Figure 6
Figure 6
I–V characterization of AZO thick film for (A–C) transfer characteristics for bias voltage 0.3, 1 and 3 V, respectively, and (D–F) output characteristics for gate bias voltage 3, 5 and 7 V, respectively.
Figure 7
Figure 7
I–V characterization of AZO (disk type) for (A–C) transfer characteristics for bias voltage 0.3, 1 and 3 V, respectively, and (D–F) output characteristics for bias voltage 3, 5 and 7 V, respectively.
Figure 8
Figure 8
The effect of bias voltage on (A,C) current vs. dose and (B,D) voltage vs. dose for AZO thick film and AZO disk type, respectively.
Figure 9
Figure 9
The effect of bias voltage on (A,C) threshold voltage with dose and (B,D) sensitivity with dose for thick film and disk type AZO, respectively.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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