Bias Stress Stability of Solution-Processed Zinc Tin Oxide Thin-Film Transistors

The effects of bias stress on spin-coated zinc tin oxide (ZTO) transistors are investigated. Applying a positive bias stress results in the displacement of the transfer curves in the positive direction without changing the field-effect mobility or the subthreshold behavior, while a negative stress has no effect on the threshold voltage shift. Device instability appears to be a consequence of the charging and discharging of the temporal trap states at the interface and in the ZTO channel region. All the stressed devices recover their original characteristics after 10 min at room temperature. Furthermore, the inkjet-printed transistor yields similar bias stress effects as those observed in their spin-coated counterparts but has a greater shift in the threshold voltage. Microstructural evidence in conjunction with Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy confirms that severe instability is attributed to the presence of nanopores in the inkjet-printed channel layer. (C) 2009 The Electrochemical Society. [DOI:10.1149/1.3212847] All rights reserved.