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High‐mobility solution‐processed zinc oxide thin films on silicon nitride
Author(s) -
Benlamri Mourad,
Bothe Kyle M.,
Ma Alex M.,
Shoute Gem,
Afshar Amir,
Sharma Himani,
Mohammadpour Arash,
Gupta Manisha,
Cadien Kenneth C.,
Tsui Ying Y.,
Shankar Karthik,
Barlage Douglas W.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
physica status solidi (rrl) – rapid research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.786
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1862-6270
pISSN - 1862-6254
DOI - 10.1002/pssr.201409155
Subject(s) - materials science , nucleation , substrate (aquarium) , silicon , thin film , chemical engineering , nitride , zinc , chemical vapor deposition , silicon nitride , electron mobility , oxide , silicon oxide , layer (electronics) , nanotechnology , optoelectronics , chemistry , metallurgy , oceanography , organic chemistry , engineering , geology
A high effective electron mobility of 33 cm 2 V –1 s –1 was achieved in solution‐processed undoped zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films. The introduction of silicon nitride (Si 3 N 4 ) as growth substrate resulted in a mobility improvement by a factor of 2.5 with respect to the commonly used silicon oxide (SiO 2 ). The solution‐processed ZnO thin films grown on Si 3 N 4 , prepared by low‐pressure chemical vapor deposition, revealed bigger grain sizes, lower strain and better crystalline quality in comparison to the films grown on thermal SiO 2 . These results show that the nucleation and growth mechanisms of solution‐processed films are substrate dependent and affect the final film structure accordingly. The substantial difference in electron mobilities suggests that, in addition to the grain morphology and crystalline structure effects, defect chemistry is a contributing factor that also depends on the particular substrate. In this respect, interface trap densities measured in high‐κ HfO 2 /ZnO MOSCAPs were about ten times lower in those fabricated on Si 3 N 4 substrates. (© 2014 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)