Critical Role of In <sub>2</sub> O <sub>3</sub> Structure and Interface in Threshold Voltage and Mobility of Oxide Semiconductor FETs

This study investigates the electronic and structural properties of In 2 O 3 thin films on SiO 2 and HfO 2 substrates using synchrotron-based X-ray techniques, focusing on how oxygen vacancies (V o ) and hydroxide (−OH) incorporation influence threshold voltage ( V TH ) and field-effect mobility (μ FE ) in field-effect transistors (FETs). This study demonstrates that V o significantly shifts threshold V TH and impacts the device’s electrical performance, aligning with results from TCAD simulations. In 2 O 3 on HfO 2 exhibits fewer V o and greater stability compared to that on SiO 2, enhancing device lifetime. Structurally, In 2 O 3 on HfO 2 has a higher density (6.4 g/cm 3 ) and lower interface roughness than In 2 O 3 on SiO 2 (5.9 g/cm 3 ), where an intermixing layer is present at the In 2 O 3 /SiO 2 interface. These structural differences contribute to a higher μ FE for In 2 O 3 on HfO 2 (48 cm 2 /V·s) compared to SiO 2 (30 cm 2 /V·s). Further annealing at 400 °C can enhance density and interface quality in In 2 O 3 on HfO 2, which improves its mobility to 115 cm 2 /V·s. These findings underscore the critical role of electronic and structural properties of In 2 O 3 and its interface with the dielectric substrate in optimizing the performance and stability of oxide semiconductor FETs.

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Publication Details

Journal
ACS Applied Electronic Materials
Published
2026-06-29
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1021/acsaelm.6c00682
Primary Topic
Gas Sensing Nanomaterials and Sensors
Type
article
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article

Critical Role of In 2 O 3 Structure and Interface in Threshold Voltage and Mobility of Oxide Semiconductor FETs

Shu-Jui Chang, Wenzhao Lu, Nozomu Hiraoka, Ching-Shuan Huang et al.
ACS Applied Electronic Materials
Gas Sensing Nanomaterials and Sensors
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Critical Role of In 2 O 3 Structure and Interface in Threshold Voltage and Mobility of Oxide Semiconductor FETs

Shu-Jui Chang, Wenzhao Lu, Nozomu Hiraoka, Ching-Shuan Huang, Donglai Zhong, Che‐Chi Shih, Shu‐Chih Haw, Qing Lin, Chueh‐Cheng Yang, Chia‐Hsin Wang, Goutham Arutchelvan, Yu-Ming Lin, Yu-Che Huang, Yen‐Fa Liao, Tsung-En Lee, Yi‐Wei Tsai, Huiting Liu, Yu‐Chien Chiu, Jhih‐Min Lin, Zhiyang Huang, Chao-Hsin Chien, Shang-Jui Chiu, Iuliana Radu, Chih-Wei Hu, Wei-Yen Woon, Claire Cheng, Chao-Ching Cheng, Ta-Chuan Liao
article en

Abstract

This study investigates the electronic and structural properties of In 2 O 3 thin films on SiO 2 and HfO 2 substrates using synchrotron-based X-ray techniques, focusing on how oxygen vacancies (V o ) and hydroxide (−OH) incorporation influence threshold voltage ( V TH ) and field-effect mobility (μ FE ) in field-effect transistors (FETs). This study demonstrates that V o significantly shifts threshold V TH and impacts the device’s electrical performance, aligning with results from TCAD simulations. In 2 O 3 on HfO 2 exhibits fewer V o and greater stability compared to that on SiO 2, enhancing device lifetime. Structurally, In 2 O 3 on HfO 2 has a higher density (6.4 g/cm 3 ) and lower interface roughness than In 2 O 3 on SiO 2 (5.9 g/cm 3 ), where an intermixing layer is present at the In 2 O 3 /SiO 2 interface. These structural differences contribute to a higher μ FE for In 2 O 3 on HfO 2 (48 cm 2 /V·s) compared to SiO 2 (30 cm 2 /V·s). Further annealing at 400 °C can enhance density and interface quality in In 2 O 3 on HfO 2, which improves its mobility to 115 cm 2 /V·s. These findings underscore the critical role of electronic and structural properties of In 2 O 3 and its interface with the dielectric substrate in optimizing the performance and stability of oxide semiconductor FETs.

ACS Applied Electronic Materials
Semiconductor Manufacturing International (Italy) (IT), National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (TW), Hodges University (US), National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center (TW), Institute of Electronics (BG), Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (Taiwan) (TW)
Openalex Percentile: Top 12%
Gas Sensing Nanomaterials and Sensors
DOISourceOpenAlex
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