Low-Temperature Aqueous Route Processed Indium Oxide Thin-Film Transistors by NH3 Plasma-Assisted Treatment.

We propose a simple and inexpensive strategy for fabricating aqueous route indium oxide thin-film transistors (In2O3-TFTs) at much lower annealing temperatures (${T}_{\text {a}}= 140\,\,^{\circ }\text{C}$) using NH3 plasma-assisted treatment (PAT) process to In2O3 film surfaces. During the NH3 PAT, the substrate temperature, plasma power, and gas flow were maintained at 140 °C, 50 W, and 100 sccm, respectively. The effect of a sequence of postannealing and PAT, namely, anneal after plasma (AAP)/anneal before plasma (ABP), was studied in detail. The results show that the NH3 PAT can promote the fracture of −OH, passivate the Vo, and increase the conductivity of In2O3 films at low temperatures. The AAP instead of ABP is a suitable method to realize high-performance low-temperature processed In2O3-TFTs on account of the higher oxidation degree, appropriate N doping, as well as more effectively H doping in AAP sample. The fabricated In2O3-TFTs based on AAP exhibited acceptable electrical performance of ~1.3 cm2/ $\text {V}\cdot \text {s}$ mobility and ~107 on/off current ratio at low temperatures. The novel method for fabricating the In2O3-TFTs opens a way for the development of nontoxic, low-cost, and low-temperature oxide circuitry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]