Investigation of on-current degradation behavior induced by surface hydrolysis effect under negative gate bias stress in amorphous InGaZnO thin-film transistors

This study investigates the electrical instability under negative gate bias stress (NGBS) induced by surface hydrolysis effect. Electrical characteristics exhibit instability for amorphous InGaZnO (a-IGZO) Thin Film Transistors (TFTs) under NGBS, in which on-current degradation and current crowding phenomenon can be observed. When the negative gate bias is applied on the TFT, hydrogen ions will dissociate from ZnO-H bonds and the dissociated hydrogen ions will cause electrical instability under NGBS. The ISE-Technology Computer Aided Design simulation tool and moisture partial pressure modulation measurement are utilized to clarify the anomalous degradation behavior. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.