Impact of the Use of Xe on Electrical Properties in Magnetron-Sputtering Deposited Amorphous InGaZnO Thin-Film Transistors

The use of heavier noble gases such as Xe instead of the lighter Ar during the magnetron sputtering deposition of amorphous indium-gallium-zinc oxide films is introduced to the fabrication of their thin-film transistors. Higher mobility in the Xe case is observed; typically, the saturation-region field-effect mobility is increased from similar to 10 cm(2) V-1 s(-1) in the Ar case to similar to 13 cm(2) V-1 s(-1) in the Xe case. The Hall mobility is also higher in the Xe case in the carrier density range of approximately 10(17)-10(18) cm(-3). These results suggest that the Xe sputtering can reduce film damage, and improve film quality. (c) 2013 The Japan Society of Applied Physics