Densification of a-IGZO with low-temperature annealing for flexible electronics applications

Amorphous InGaZnO (a-IGZO) thin-film transistors are a leading contender for active channel materials in next generation flat panel displays and flexible electronics. Improved electronic functionality has been linked to the increased density of a-IGZO, and while much work has looked at hightemperature processes, studies at temperatures compatible with flexible substrates are needed. Here, compositional and structural analyses show that short term, low-temperature annealing (< 6 h) can increase the density of sputtered a-IGZO by up to 5.6% for temperatures below 300 degrees C, which is expected to improve the transistor performance, while annealing for longer times leads to a subsequent decrease in density due to oxygen absorption.