Interfacial Oxidized Gate Insulators for Low-Power Oxide Thin-Film Transistors

Low power consumption is essential for wearable and internet-of-things applications. An effective way of reducing power consumption is to reduce the operation voltage using a very thin and high-dielectric gate insulator. In an oxide thin-film transistor (TFT), the channel layer is an oxide material in which oxygen reacts with metal to form a thin insulator layer. The interfacial oxidation between the gate metal and In-Ga-Zn oxide (IGZO) was investigated with Al, Ti, and Mo. Positive bias was applied to the gate metal for enhanced oxygen diffusion since the migration of oxygen is an important factor in interfacial oxidation. Through interfacial oxidation, a top-gate oxide TFT was developed with low source-drain voltages below 0.5 V and a gate voltage swing less than 1 V, which provide low power consumption.