Local fluorination-enhanced oxide semiconductor Schottky barrier diodes

Abstract Fluorine doping has been comprehensively investigated as an effective strategy for enhancing the performance of oxide semiconductor Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs). In particular, the fluorination process applied to indium–zinc–oxide (IZO) has proven effective in passivating interface defects, resulting in an increased Schottky barrier height (Ф B ) and a significant reduction in reverse current. However, unregulated fluorine diffusion lowers the carrier concentration in the IZO bulk, leading to a lower forward current. A fluorine-doped indium–gallium–zinc–oxide interlayer is introduced to mitigate interface defects while confining fluorination to preserve on-state performance, achieving a remarkable current rectification ratio of 2.29 × 10 10 . The fabricated IGZO:F/IZO SBD exhibits an increased forward current and a slightly reduced Schottky barrier after temperature-bias stress, which is attributed to stress-induced oxygen vacancies ( V O ) and the partial breakage of F-metal bonds. Moreover, the leakage current showed no significant changes, indicating that the fluorine-passivated interface remains nearly stable under stress.