ABSTRACTIn the present study, the sub-gap states of amorphous In-Ga-Zn-O (a-IGZO) thin films treated with various process conditions have been evaluated by means of capacitance-voltage (C-V) characteristics and isothermal capacitance transient spectroscopy (ICTS). It was found that the space-charge densities of the a-IGZO decreased as the oxygen partial pressure was increased during the sputtering of a-IGZO thin films. The ICTS spectra for the 4, 8, and 12 % samples were similar and the peak positions were found to be around 1 × 10-2 s at 180 K. On the other hand, the peak position for the 20 % sample shifted to a longer time regime and was located at around 2 × 10-1 s at 180 K. The total densities of the traps for the 4, 8, and 12 % samples were calculated to be 5−6 × 1016 cm-3, while that for 20 % was one order of magnitude lower than the others. From Thermal desorption spectrometer, it was found that desorption of Zn atoms started at a temperature higher than 300 °C for the 4 % sample, while desorption of Zn was not observed for the 20 % sample. The introduction of the sub-gap states could be attributed to oxygen-rich and/or Zn-deficient defects in the a-IGZO thin films formed during thermal annealing.
