High-Speed and Low-Temperature Atmospheric Photo-Annealing of Large-Area Solution-Processed IGZO Thin-Film Transistors by Using Programmable Pulsed Operation of Xenon Flash Lamp

Abstract

An efficient photo-annealing approach for high-performance solution-processed metal-oxide thin film transistors (TFTs) was demonstrated by using programmable pulse operation of xenon flash lamp. The flash lamp annealing (FLA) process could offer not only low-temperature (approximate to 100 degrees C) processing but also ultra-fast annealing speed of the order of seconds under air ambient conditions. Solution-processed amorphous indium-gallium-zinc-oxide (-IGZO) TFTs implemented by the FLA process typically exhibited much improved electrical performance such as saturation mobility of >10.8 cm(2)V(-11)s(-1), ION/IOPP of >10(8), and subthreshold slope of as steep as 0.24 V/dec. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis of a-IGZO films indicates that the FLA can provide sufficient activation energy for rapid formation of solid a-IGZO bonds within 30 s. The high-quality metal-oxide films achieved by an atmospheric and low temperature FLA method may represent a significant advance for scalable fabrication of flexible and printed metal-oxide electronics.