Device characteristics of amorphous indium gallium zinc oxide thin film transistors with ammonia incorporation

Abstract The effect of ammonia gas on amorphous indium gallium zinc oxide thin film transistors is investigated. The ammonia is incorporated into the sputtered a-IGZO film during the deposition process. The results indicate that the sub-threshold swing of the NH 3 incorporated TFTs is significantly improved from 2.8 to 1.0 V/decade, and the hysteresis phenomenon is also suppressed during the forward and reverse sweeping measurement. By X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses, Zn–N and O–H bonds are observed in ammonia incorporated a-IGZO film. Therefore, the improvements in the electrical performance of TFTs are attributed to the passivation of dangling bonds and/or defects by ammonia.