Numerical Investigation of Short-Channel Effects and RF Performance in Top-Gate In2O3 Thin-Film Transistors

Indium oxide (In2O3) has recently emerged as a promising semiconductor for advanced electronics due to its high electron mobility and wide bandgap. In this article, the lateral scaling characteristics of top-gate In2O3 thin-film transistors (TFTs) featuring a 1.5 nm thick channel and a 7 nm thick HfO2 gate dielectric are investigated by two-dimensional device simulation. The analysis covers short-channel effects, DC characteristics, transconductance behavior, and small-signal radio frequency (RF) metrics across a gate-length (LG) range of 20 nm to 700 nm. Simulation results identify a critical gate length near 100 nm for the transition from long-channel to short-channel behavior. For LG ≤ 100 nm, pronounced short-channel effects emerge, featuring a significant negative VTH shift and a drain-induced barrier lowering (DIBL) coefficient up to ~130 mV/V. A non-classical gm scaling behavior is observed, where gm_max initially increases with LG, then remains within a narrow range and eventually evolves toward the conventional long-channel trend. Further analysis of the lateral electric field distribution, field-dependent mobility, and transconductance efficiency indicates that this behavior originates from a crossover between short-channel field-assisted transport and gate-controlled channel modulation. The devices show strong RF potential, with fT and fmax reaching 124.32 GHz and 157.64 GHz, respectively, at LG = 20 nm. The high-mobility In2O3 channel leads to a less distinct fT scaling transition from the classical 1/L2G dependence to the short-channel 1/LG dependence, while fmax scaling evolves through different regimes governed by capacitance-related limitations, intrinsic transport enhancement, and short-channel non-idealities. This work provides physical insight into the lateral scaling behavior of ultrathin top-gate In2O3 TFTs and highlights their potential for high-frequency and power-dense applications.