A Review of the Progress of Thin-Film Transistors and Their Technologies for Flexible Electronics

Flexible electronics enable various technologies to be integrated into daily life and fuel the quests to develop revolutionary applications, such as artificial skins, intelligent textiles, e-skin patches, and on-skin displays. Mechanical characteristics, including the total thickness and the bending radius, are of paramount importance for physically flexible electronics. However, the limitation regarding semiconductor fabrication challenges the mechanical flexibility of thin-film electronics. Thin-Film Transistors (TFTs) are a key component in thin-film electronics that restrict the flexibility of thin-film systems. Here, we provide a brief overview of the trends of the last three decades in the physical flexibility of various semiconducting technologies, including amorphous-silicon, polycrystalline silicon, oxides, carbon nanotubes, and organics. The study demonstrates the trends of the mechanical properties, including the total thickness and the bending radius, and provides a vision for the future of flexible TFTs.

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The characteristics of fluorinated polycrystalline silicon oxides and thin film transistors by CF4 plasma treatment

Thin Solid Films ◽

10.1016/j.tsf.2010.09.001 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 519 (2) ◽

pp. 919-922 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Chyuan Haur Kao ◽

C.S. Lai ◽

W.H. Sung ◽

C.H. Lee

Keyword(s):

Thin Film ◽

Plasma Treatment ◽

Thin Film Transistors ◽

Polycrystalline Silicon ◽

Silicon Oxides

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Integration Process for Self-aligned Sub-µm Thin-Film Transistors for Flexible Electronics

2021 IEEE International Conference on Flexible and Printable Sensors and Systems (FLEPS) ◽

10.1109/fleps51544.2021.9469764 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Julia Reker ◽

Thorsten Meyers ◽

Fabio F. Vidor ◽

Trudi-Heleen Joubert ◽

Ulrich Hilleringmann

Keyword(s):

Thin Film ◽

Flexible Electronics ◽

Thin Film Transistors ◽

Integration Process

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A Study about Schottky Barrier Height and Ideality Factor in Thin Film Transistors with Metal/Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Structures Aiming Flexible Electronics Application

Nanomaterials ◽

10.3390/nano11051188 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (5) ◽

pp. 1188

Author(s):

Ivan Rodrigo Kaufmann ◽

Onur Zerey ◽

Thorsten Meyers ◽

Julia Reker ◽

Fábio Vidor ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Thin Film ◽

Zinc Oxide ◽

Schottky Barrier ◽

Barrier Height ◽

Flexible Electronics ◽

Thin Film Transistors ◽

Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles ◽

Schottky Barrier Height ◽

Oxide Nanoparticles ◽

Semiconductor Interfaces

Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NP) used for the channel region in inverted coplanar setup in Thin Film Transistors (TFT) were the focus of this study. The regions between the source electrode and the ZnO NP and the drain electrode were under investigation as they produce a Schottky barrier in metal-semiconductor interfaces. A more general Thermionic emission theory must be evaluated: one that considers both metal/semiconductor interfaces (MSM structures). Aluminum, gold, and nickel were used as metallization layers for source and drain electrodes. An organic-inorganic nanocomposite was used as a gate dielectric. The TFTs transfer and output characteristics curves were extracted, and a numerical computational program was used for fitting the data; hence information about Schottky Barrier Height (SBH) and ideality factors for each TFT could be estimated. The nickel metallization appears with the lowest SBH among the metals investigated. For this metal and for higher drain-to-source voltages, the SBH tended to converge to some value around 0.3 eV. The developed fitting method showed good fitting accuracy even when the metallization produced different SBH in each metal-semiconductor interface, as was the case for gold metallization. The Schottky effect is also present and was studied when the drain-to-source voltages and/or the gate voltage were increased.

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