Amorphous metal oxide semiconductor thin film transistors for printed electronics

There is an acute market need for solution-processable semiconductor inks that can form the essential components of the printed analog and digital circuits. Currently, the industry is migrating beyond simply printing conductive metals for interconnects and embracing higher integration by printing transistors directly on the same substrate. This thesis focuses on investigating solution-processed amorphous indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO) as a semiconducting channel layer of a field-effect transistor to enable low-cost, large-area printed electronics that are physically flexible and optically transparent. Specifically, we aim to achieve field-effect mobility exceeding 1 cm2/Vs, to overcome the limits faced in existing amorphous silicon and emerging organic transistor technologies, through optimizing IGZO ink and studying various thin-film processing conditions. Device approach using solution-processed, high-K aluminum oxide dielectric layer has also been examined in this study. In addition, the effect of low-temperature UV-assisted annealing has been studied which allow the fabrication to be compatible with plastic substrates