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. 2025 Apr 3;10(14):14001–14009. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.4c10687

Solid-State Laser Annealing (SLA) of Fully Solution-Processed Amorphous InZnO Thin-Film Transistors at Various Fluence

Nu Myat Thazin †, Juan Paolo S Bermundo †,*, Umu Hanifah †, Johannes Richter ‡, Sebastian Geburt ‡, Yukiharu Uraoka †
PMCID: PMC12004136  PMID: 40256562

Abstract

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Advancing next-generation metal oxide thin film technologies demands the exploration of novel treatments for active materials. These treatments need to be processed via simple and cost-effective methods and low-temperature techniques to ensure compatibility with flexible substrates that are sensitive to high-temperature (>400 °C) annealing processes. To solve this problem, photoirradiation approaches on the active layers, such as ultraviolet treatment or excimer laser annealing (ELA), have been discovered as alternatives to conventional annealing techniques. The state-of-the-art ELA is limited primarily by its high-cost maintenance. Thus, we present an alternative photo-assisted approach to functionalize the amorphous Indium Zinc Oxide (a-IZO) films by employing solid-state laser annealing (SLA) post-treatment as an inexpensive option instead of the costly ELA process. The SLA approach can functionalize the a-IZO film to improve its film conductivity and function as the gate, source, and drain electrodes. After SLA post-treatment, a-IZO TFTs exhibited switching behavior with saturation mobility (μsat) up to 0.98 cm2 V–1 s–1 and an on–off current ratio >106 at drain voltage, Vd = 5.0 V. Therefore, this method holds the potential to serve as a viable alternative to the traditional annealing process or costly ELA technique with further refinement, especially for application in flexible devices.

Introduction

Metal-oxide semiconductors (MOSs) have been explored as promising materials for thin film transistors (TFTs). They have achieved remarkable progress in display applications like active-matrix organic light-emitting diodes (AMOLEDs) and active-matrix liquid displays (AMLCDs) due to their high mobility, high uniformity over a large area, flexibility, and excellent transparency in the visible light spectrum.1−5 Despite this progress, incredibly flexible, transparent electronic technology, such as wearable or foldable devices, demands higher standards for oxide TFTs. Moreover, producing TFTs on flexible, transparent substrates, such as polyimide (PI) and poly(ether sulfone) (PES), especially requires low-temperature processes, as they are prone to thermal deformation when exposed to temperatures above 230 °C.6−8 Consequently, low-temperature-processed oxide TFTs have become crucial technologies for next-generation display technologies.

With the accelerating progress of technology, we also need to consider scalability while maintaining low manufacturing costs. In this regard, solution-processed TFTs offer advantages over vacuum methods, for example, low energy requirement, cost-effectiveness, reduced complexity, and reduces the need for expensive laboratory equipment.9,10 While solution-based deposition methods have traditionally focused on the specific layers in TFTs, particularly the channel layers,11−15 achieving economically efficient and large-area production necessitates the use of solution processing for all layers. Despite the benefits of solution process, the challenge of employing a high-temperature annealing process (>400 °C) to improve the electrical performance needs to be addressed for devices utilizing flexible substrates. Additionally, annealing is typically a time-consuming procedure.9,10,16 Therefore, several research efforts have been dedicated to lowering the postannealing temperature through different strategies while enhancing the performance of solution-processed TFTs. Either method, photonic post-annealing methods, or introduction of extra energy to the starting precursor via combustion method has appreciably achieved high electrical performance. As a case in point, employing one or multiple photo-assisted annealing methods, such as utilizing only xenon flash lamp17 or combining excimer deep-ultraviolet (EDUV) with intensely pulsed light irradiation (IPL),18 can effectively reduce processing time to less than 10 min and lower annealing temperature (≤130 °C). In another case, the combustion method reduced the temperature to 300 °C, lower than the 400 °C required by the conventional sol–gel method.19−21 Nevertheless, it still requires higher processing temperatures and longer times than laser annealing.

Therefore, laser annealing has emerged as a significant technique in the field of TFTs, particularly in enhancing their electrical and structural properties. One advantage of laser annealing is its low-temperature processing capability, which is particularly beneficial for flexible substrates as it preserves structural integrity and expands material compatibility.22 This process also enhances material properties, such as increasing carrier mobility and maintaining dopant stoichiometry, which are critical for device reliability and performance.23,24 Moreover, laser annealing stands out among processing techniques due to its ability to concentrate high energy in a precisely limited area using a focused laser beam.25−28 This method induces localized photothermal effects exclusively at the selective area, enabling precise thermal control while significantly reducing unintended interactions with underlying layers or neighboring structures.29,30 A key benefit is its ability to optimize the crystallization process of the active layers, which is crucial for achieving high carrier mobility and electrical stability. For instance, Chen et al.31 highlighted that laser treatment can effectively improve MOS TFTs by facilitating the photochemical cracking of metastable bonds and enhancing the crystallinity of the active layer, which directly correlates with improved device performance. In addition, the wavelength tunability of laser systems allows not only selective absorption and optimization of annealing conditions for specific material systems but also precise controls over defect engineering.31,32 Many studies, in particular, have shown that specific laser treatments can reduce defects, enhance crystallinity, and modify bandgaps, resulting in overall device efficiency and functionality.26,33−35 As a result, laser annealing is especially valuable for applications requiring selective annealing,36−38 precise patterning,39−41 controlled crystal growth,42,43 and material ablation44−46 in diverse materials processing procedures. It is a vital tool in advancing the fabrication and performance of TFTs, as well as in broader electronic and optoelectronic applications.

Excimer laser annealing (ELA) on rigid silicon (Si) or flexible PI achieves good performance by forming films with large grain sizes. However, this method is expensive due to the short lifespan of the excimer laser tube, the need for excimer gas, and the frequent replacement of sapphire windows in the laser tube.47 A more affordable option is diode-pumped solid-state (DPSS) UV laser annealing, which operates at the wavelength (λ) of 343 nm. Herein, we employed the Yb: YAG thin disk laser, known as solid-state laser annealing (SLA), at λ = 343 nm for the fully solution-processed self-aligned a-IZO TFTs. In contrast to ELA, SLA provides reliable consistency, high availability, reduced operational expenses, minimal maintenance, and usage of no harmful gases.47 The current work demonstrates how SLA affected the a-IZO film and enabled instantaneous activation of a-IZO as source and drain (S/D) and gate (G) electrodes. After utilizing SLA post-treatment, a-IZO TFTs with fluorinated Polysilsesquioxane (F-PSQ) gate insulator48 exhibited mobility of 0.98 cm2 V–1 s–1, exhibiting a significant improvement from the lack of switching behavior prior to SLA treatment. Regardless of the relatively low mobility compared to ELA, this research provides a deeper insight into the influence of the SLA on the oxide TFTs. It highlights its initial promise as a cost-effective alternative method to ELA in advancing the performance of solution-processed metal oxide semiconductors TFTs.

Experimental Section

TFT Fabrication

The entire process of fabricating a-IZO TFTs using a self-aligned top gate structure is schematically shown in Figure 1. First, a p-type Si/SiO2 substrate was cleaned by dipping it into a mixture of sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide in a ratio of 1:1 for 10 min at 80 °C. After that, the substrate was treated with UV-ozone for 10 min at 115 °C to enhance the surface hydrophilicity. IZO precursor with an indium to zinc ratio of 77:23 was subsequently deposited on the substrate via spin-coating at 3000 rpm for 30 s, then subjected to sequential baking at 150 and 300 °C, with each step lasting 5 min. The deposition process involved layering the a-IZO five times. Once the final layer was deposited, the a-IZO film underwent postbaking at 300 °C for 1 h, culminating in a total thickness of approximately 70 nm. The photolithography was conducted to pattern the a-IZO channels through subsequent wet-etching with 0.01 M HCl. For the gate insulator, F-PSQ48 (dielectric constant = 3.0, leakage current at 2 MV cm–1 = 10 nA cm–2, breakdown voltage = 2.9 MV cm–1, 99% transparent at 400 nm) was spin-coated on top of IZO channel islands, yielding a total thickness of roughly 200 nm. Later, the curing process was performed at 300 °C for 1 h. In order to design the gate, source, and drain electrodes, the same IZO precursor and deposition parameters as the channel layer were utilized to deposit them onto the layer of F-PSQ. Photolithography was once more employed to pattern the top gate layer of the IZO and F-PSQ gate insulator, followed by wet etching (0.01 M HCl) for the IZO gate. The dry etching for F-PSQ was done with the same pattern employing inductively coupled plasma reactive ion etching (ICP-RIE) until the basecoat layer IZO was exposed. The exposed IZO layer and the top layer were functionalized as electrodes for the source, drain, and gate by the SLA treatment. High-power 343 nm solid-state lasers were operated at 10 kHz with the laser fluence ranging from 60 to 110 mJ cm–2 in 10 mJ cm–2 increments. The self-aligned top-gate featured fully solution-processed a-IZO TFTs were fabricated with a channel width (W) and length (L) of 90 and 10 μm.

Figure 1.

Figure 1

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Schematic diagram of fully solution-processed a-IZO TFT fabrication step-by-step from each layer (a-IZO, F-PSQ) deposition via spin-coating undergoing pre/post-baking, photolithography, and dry etching to photoassisted post-treatment.

Device and Film Characterization

The electrical characteristics of a-IZO TFTs were evaluated in the dark under standard atmospheric conditions utilizing a semiconductor parameter analyzer (Agilent 4156C, Agilent Technologies). The surface morphology of the a-IZO films was measured with an atomic force microscope (AFM). The crystallinity of the films was checked by grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GI-XRD) using a Rigaku RINT-TTR III/NM in the range of 20° ≤ 2θ ≤ 70° with a Cu Kα (λ = 1.5418 Å) radiation source. The films’ thickness and density were studied using a spectroscopic ellipsometer (HORIBA JOBIN YVON UVISEL ER AGMS-NSD) and X-ray Structure Analyzer (Rigaku SmartLab9 kW), respectively. To analyze the chemical composition of the films, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was performed using a ULVAC-PHI PHI 5000 VersaProbeII instrument equipped with a mono-Al Kα source and ion gun neutralization.

Results and Discussion

TFT Characteristics

The transfer characteristics of the a-IZO TFTs were examined under a dark chamber before and after SLA treatment at 60 mJ cm–2 with a channel W of 90 μm and L of 10 μm. The respective transfer curves are provided in Figure 2a,b, and the pristine TFT is indicated as “as-fabricated”. A forward sweep of the gate to source voltage Vg from −20 to 20 V at Vd values of 0.1, 5.0, and 9.9 V was used to evaluate the electrical properties of the TFTs. Compared to Figure 2a, significantly enhanced switching behavior was observed in post-SLA treated TFTs, as shown in Figure 2b, with the on-current (Ion) around 10−8, 10−6, and 10−5 A at Vd = 0.1, 5.5, and 9.9 V, respectively, implying that the SLA successfully functionalizes the electrodes of semiconductive a-IZO to conductive ones. The self-aligned a-IZO TFTs displayed the transfer characteristics with Ion > 10−6 A and an on–off current ratio of >106 at Vd = 5.0 V. The saturated mobility μsat was calculated from the following eq 1.

graphic file with name ao4c10687_m001.jpg 1

where gm is the transconductance of the TFTs, Cox is the gate dielectric capacitance per unit area, and W and L are the channel width and length. The SLA irradiated a-IZO TFTs demonstrated a μsat 0.98 cm2 V–1 s–1 with Vth = 0.4 V at the energy density of 60 mJ cm–2. Furthermore, upon completion of SLA treatment with various fluences, all TFTs exhibited switching characteristics provided in Figure S1, along with their mobility data. This result was explained by the uniform absorption of the DPSS UV laser throughout the IZO films, enabling the activation of not only the gate but also the source and drain regions. This could be attributed to the total film thickness of IZO (∼70 nm) and F-PSQ (200 nm) being less than the penetration depth of the 343 nm light (∼370 nm). Thus, the 343 nm wavelength is well-suited for the self-aligned fabrication of a-IZO TFTs, ensuring efficient laser absorption by the IZO layer. The observed increase in mobility following the SLA activation is not caused by enhanced movement of charge carriers in the channel but rather by reduced resistance in the S/D region, leading to improved conductivity, as will be discussed later.

Figure 2.

Figure 2

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Transfer characteristics curve of a-IZO-based TFTs (a) before and (b) after SLA treatment with their respective TFT schematic diagrams.

In the previous work,49 it was reported that ELA caused the exposed IZO top gate to reach a maximum temperature of 1507 °C, while the exposed source and drain reached 1056 °C, which resulted in crystallization. In contrast, the significantly lower temperature (453 °C) in the unexposed a-IZO channel ensured that its amorphous nature remained intact. Additionally, the combination of UV and ELA annealing methods promoted fluorine diffusion from the F-PSQ gate insulator into the IZO channel. This fluorine diffusion occupied oxygen vacancies in the a-IZO layer, donating free electrons as charge carriers and enhancing the field-effect mobility (μ).

In this study, SLA (λ = 343 nm) is expected to produce lower annealing temperatures compared with ELA, considering the preserved amorphous structure of the IZO film after SLA exposure, as shown in XRD (Figure 4). Since the starting temperature of the crystallization for IZO generally ranges from approximately 300–550 °C, depending on the impurities, defects, and deposition conditions,50,51 the retained amorphous phase suggests that the exposed area—gate, source, and drain—experienced a peak temperature around 300 °C.52,53 Consequently, the underlying channel layer remained protected by the IZO gate and the thick F-PSQ insulator. Moreover, the high thermal stability of F-PSQ48 is expected to inhibit the SLA process from affecting the channel layer. However, the lower photon energy and reduced annealing temperatures of SLA are expected to result in less fluorine diffusion into the IZO channel compared to ELA. While this might reduce the improvement in TFT performance compared with ELA applications, the SLA process offers the advantage of minimal thermal disequilibrium between the IZO and substrate materials, reducing thermomechanical stress during fabrication. Therefore, we believe that upon optimization of the fabrication process through the findings in this paper, SLA-assisted treatment could improve device performance in the future.

Figure 4.

Figure 4

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XRD spectra of all a-IZO films before and after SLA treatment.

As mentioned in Table 1, although the mobility may still be relatively low in this work, the on/off ratio is comparable to that of vacuum-processed TFTs assisted by photo-assisted annealing. Notably, among solution-processing TFTs with activation using various energy sources, SLA requires the lowest fluence to activate the electrodes for a TFT to improve its electrical performance. Thus, SLA activation on the gate, source, and drain electrodes represents a promising method for further optimizing and enhancing the TFT device performance. Additionally, future exploration of SLA treatment for the channel region could offer valuable insights and provide a compelling direction for future work.

Table 1. Treatment Conditions and Findings from Prior Research Studied on the Photo-Assisted Annealing Method.

material deposition method activation method (energy source) wavelength(nm) fluence(mJ cm–2) applied area mobility (cm2 V–1 s–1) on/off ratio ref.
In2O2 spin coating DUV (excimer lamp) 172 65 mW cm–2a channel 5.35 106 (18)
IPL (xeon lamp) 200–1000 1.8 × 103
In2O2 spin coating DUV (excimer lamp) 172 N/A channel 4.44 2 × 106 (54)
In2O2/ZnO spin coating photonic sintering (xeon lamp) N/A 4.44 × 103 channel 19 1.4 × 106 (55)
AlOx/ZrO spin coating 1.84 × 103 gate insulator
IZO spin coating FUV (deuterium) 160 10 mW cm–2a channel 1.7 N/A (56)
a-IZO spin coating (all solution process) UV 248 120 S/D 38 N/A (49)
ELA (KrF)
IZO sputtering ELA (XeCl) 308 30 channel 37.7 107 (57)
IGZO spin coating lightwave annealing (halogen lamps) N/A 850 Wb channel 13.4 105 (58)
AlOx gate insulator
IGZO sputtering ELA (XeCl) 308 150 S/D 8.2 N/A (59)
a-IGZO sputtering Ar plasma N/A N/A S/D 5 107 (60)
a-IZO spin coating (all solution process) SLA (Yb: YAG thin disk laser) 343 60 S/D 0.98 >106 this work
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a

Power density.

b

Power.

Film Characterization

The films were characterized to gain a further understanding of the SLA-functionalized electrodes. All films were treated with fluence starting from 60 to 110 mJ cm–2 with 10 mJ cm–2 increments, and the untreated film is referred to as “as-dep”. Figure 3 illustrates the three-dimensional surface morphology and summarizes the roughness of IZO films with or without SLA, as observed through AFM. All the solution-processed IZO films display relatively smooth films with the root-mean-square roughness, Rq ∼ 0.50 nm. However, after the treatment, Rq tends to decrease slightly, recorded as 0.44, 0.34, 0.31, 0.33, 0.39, and 0.39 nm for 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, and 110 mJ cm–2, respectively, (shown in Figure S2, excluding 60 mJ cm–2) compared to the “as-dep” value of Rq = 0.50 nm. The minimal reduction in roughness is likely due to SLA (λ = 343 nm) breaking down or removing the carbon-related impurities that were adsorbed on the films from the atmospheric environment and the precursor-related impurities. This is further discussed in the later XPS section. The results indicate that SLA treatment might reduce the interface defects between the top gate and the gate insulator.

Figure 3.

Figure 3

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Three-dimensional morphology noncontact AFM images of as-deposited a-IZO film and after SLA at a fluence of 60 mJ cm–2 and the summarized roughness, Rq plot of all a-IZO films.

Figure 4 displays the XRD results of pristine a-IZO films and a-IZO films subjected to SLA at various fluence. The 2θ corresponding to the In2O3 phase (222) was observed at ∼31.5° as a broad peak for all samples, suggesting that all films retained the amorphous structure while the noticeable peaks at 2θ = 50–55° corresponded to the Si substrate.61 Witnessing no other significant diffraction peaks implies that all of the films contained hardly any other impurities. Additionally, the varied laser fluences did not appear to influence the crystallinity. Nevertheless, compared to the as-deposited film, the (222) peak evolved and became more pronounced after treatment, indicating that crystallization has started to occur but not to the extent of forming large crystal grains. This finding was also supported by the XRR results, wherein an increase in density was observed after SLA.

The summarized data of the densities of all films, evaluated using PDXL (Rigaku) from XRR analysis, are revealed in the following Table 2. A remarkable increase in film density was observed following the SLA treatment. The higher film density improved atomic packing, leading to better orbital overlap and enabling smoother carrier transport, which resulted in increased carrier mobility.6 Unlike the treated films, the as-deposited film possessed a looser structure with microvoids and coordinated defects within the films,52 resulting in low density and higher roughness. Besides, the transformation of the loosely bonded atoms (low density) to the atomic packing (high density) could also be confirmed by the prominent pronounced peaks from the XRD result (Figure 4), as the atoms within the film began to rearrange to form closer bonds. The intensified density or densification process is possibly responsible for converting from the IZO semiconductor to the conductor.62 As the density increased, the bandgaps (Eg) were found to decrease minimally, confirmed by the ellipsometry measurements provided in Table 2. Since the Eg values of all films did not change noticeably, it could be concluded that the films subjected to SLA treatment were densified without altering the optical properties, indicating that SLA treatment is a suitable post-treatment for flexible, transparent TFT devices.

Table 2. Summarized Densities and Band Gaps According to Their Respective Films.

sample density (g cm–3) band gap (eV)
as-dep 4.65 3.01
60 mJ cm–2 5.70 2.96
70 mJ cm–2 5.29 2.96
80 mJ cm–2 5.43 2.93
90 mJ cm–2 5.25 2.96
100 mJ cm–2 6.51 2.95
110 mJ cm–2 5.32 2.95
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XPS measurements were conducted to gain better insight into how SLA affects the chemical composition of the IZO films. Figure 5a,b shows the O1s XPS spectra of IZO films before and after SLA treatment at a fluence of 60 mJ cm–2. These spectra were deconvoluted into four peaks in the nontreated film and three peaks in the treated films, at binding energies of 529.5 ± 0.1, 531.0 ± 0.1, 532.0 ± 0.1, and 533.0 ± 0.1 eV.15,49 The O1s spectra of the remaining films are provided in Figure S3. The binding energy peak OI at 529.5 eV represents an O atom bonded to a metal atom (M–O), the peak OII at 531.0 eV refers to oxygen in a nonstoichiometric metal oxide lattice, the peak OIII at 532.0 eV is associated with the hydroxyl group (M–OH), and the peak Oimp at 533.0 eV represents water-related and precursor related impurities.

Figure 5.

Figure 5

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Deconvoluted XPS spectra (OI, OII, OIII, and Oimp) of O1s in (a) as-deposited film and (b) the films treated with SLA at 60 mJ cm–2, and (c) histogram of the deconvoluted peak area representing OI, OII, OIII, and Oimp for as-dep, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, and 110 mJ cm–2.

The deconvolution results of all films were aggregated in the histogram, as shown in Figure 5c. Solution-processed IZO is prone to have solution-related impurities without any treatment and this is evident in the O1s spectra of the as-deposited film at the binding energy of ∼533.0 eV, which could contribute to the decline in the electrical performance of the device [10]. Nonetheless, these impurities originating from the precursor are typically eliminated after subjecting the films to the high-temperature postannealing process.63 After SLA, no peak relating to the Oimp was observed, implying that SLA has efficiently reduced the water- or precursor-related impurities. The OIII peak can be assigned to the oxygen in the hydroxide, which has a higher binding energy than those of the OII and the OI. This is due to the higher electronegativity of hydrogen compared to the metals, causing the oxygen in hydroxide to have a less negative charge.64 The OIII peak area of all films exhibits a relatively similar quantity, around 11–15%, while the OII peak area of treated films is drastically elevated, unlike the as-deposited film. The increase in the nonstoichiometric oxide peak OII area after the SLA treatment plays a crucial role in enhancing the conductivity of the IZO films. This OII peak can be represented as oxygen-deficient regions in the IZO matrix and is associated with the oxygen vacancy (Vo) concentration. This formation of Vo provides the excess carrier concentration, leading to improved conductivity, according to eq 2.

graphic file with name ao4c10687_m002.jpg 2

where O2 is released from the oxide structure (Oxo), creating a doubly charged oxygen vacancy (V··o) and two free electrons.65,66 The fact that generating Vo in the a-IZO semiconductor by the SLA treatment is due to the wavelength of the light source utilized during the photo-assisted treatment, in which the equivalent energy for the 343 nm for SLA is 3.6 eV. This highly energetic light source has sufficient energy to dissociate the In–O and Zn–O bonds, which hold bond energies of 1.70 and 1.52 eV, respectively. This statement could be confirmed by the notable decline in the OI peak (M–O) area of all treated films compared to the as-deposited film, as depicted in the histogram (Figure 5c). In conclusion, owing to the high energy (3.6 eV) of SLA, it effectively facilitates the breakage of weak In–O and Zn–O bonds and increases the concentration of nonstoichiometric oxide, including Vo, thereby providing the surplus charge carriers in the a-IZO films exposed to SLA.67 Ultimately, it leads to the modification of semiconductive a-IZO to conductive a-IZO. In other words, the increased content ratio of nonstoichiometric oxide in the S/D electrodes after the SLA treatment has a more significant impact compared to the nontreated S/D.

Photoassisted annealing involves the use of short, high-intensity light pulses, which are directly applied to the substrate. The energy absorbed by the material(s) deposited on the substrate can rapidly increase the temperature to over 1000 °C, lasting for a period similar to the pulse length. Despite this rapid heating, the substrate itself remains at relatively low temperatures due to the brief exposure time and the thermal disequilibrium between the absorber and substrate materials. Thus, mismatches in the thermal expansion coefficients between these materials can induce thermomechanical stress during the process.68 In the end, applying a high fluence of photoassisted annealing operated at a short wavelength might not be ideal for most materials since the sudden spike in temperature could destroy the material. According to our previous report, the solution-processed IZO required a high fluence (120 mJ cm–2) for ELA (KrF excimer laser, λ = 248 nm) combined with UV treatment to convert the electrodes from semiconductor to conductor in self-aligned TFT and achieved its highest performance.49 On the other hand, in SLA (λ = 343 nm), only a fluence of 60 mJ cm–2 was needed to obtain switching performance. This phenomenon can be explained by Beer–Lambert’s law as follows.

graphic file with name ao4c10687_m003.jpg 3

where I(t) is the intensity of light after traveling a distance t through the material, I0 is the initial intensity of the light at the surface, α is the absorption coefficient, and t is the distance the light passes through (the thickness of the IZO in this case). Beer–Lambert’s law explains that as the light travels through the material, the thickness t, it gets absorbed exponentially, and α determines how much light is absorbed by the material and, in another way, relates to the extinction coefficient (k) and wavelength λ,

graphic file with name ao4c10687_m004.jpg 4

In our case, we consider that the properties of IZO are the same; IZO shows higher absorption at short wavelengths, such as ELA (λ = 248 nm) compared to SLA (λ = 343 nm). This implies that if the energy source is performed at a shorter wavelength, then the IZO needs to absorb the right amount of energy, which is high fluence (120 mJ cm–2) at λ = 248 nm. In contrast, at 343 nm, the α of the treated IZO film tends to be lower, requiring only a low fluence (60 mJ cm–2). This statement is verified by k measured by ellipsometry, which was used to calculate α in accordance with eq 4. According to ellipsometry measurements, the as-deposited a-IZO film had an α ∼ 1.3 × 105 cm–1 at λ = 248 nm while α was ∼2.7 × 104 cm–1 at 343 nm. Besides, SLA treatment not only acquires a low fluence of 60 mJ cm–2 to break the weak In–O and Zn–O bonds throughout the whole film to facilitate the device but also is a valuable alternative method and is more cost-effective than ELA.

To recap the process of proficiently functionalizing the electrodes by SLA post-treatment, a visual aid is provided in Figure 6. This transformation showed a tendency to be attributed to two main factors. First, the SLA treatment induced film densification, as observed in XRR, which contributed to a smoother and faster pathway for the charge carriers. Second, the excess charge carriers were furnished through the formation of Vo by the SLA, which operated at a wavelength of 343 nm, corresponding to 3.6 eV. This energy was sufficient to break the weak metal-oxide bond, as confirmed by the XPS results. Overall, SLA treatment (343 nm) is an impactful post-treatment, even at a low fluence (60 mJ cm–2), for all of our self-aligned solution processed a-IZO TFTs.

Figure 6.

Figure 6

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Illustration of the mechanism of the conversion from a semiconducting as-deposited a-IZO film to a conductive a-IZO film after SLA treatment.

Conclusions

In brief, a post-SLA treatment approach helped tailor the active IZO electrodes in the fully solution-processed, self-aligned a-IZO TFTs. Remarkably, mobility of 0.98 cm2 V–1 s–1 was realized by devices after post-SLA treatment at the minimum fluence (60 mJ cm–2). The enhancement in performance observed in a-IZO TFTs following SLA treatment can be attributed to factors such as an increase in the carrier concentration with an optimal amount of Vo. Additionally, improvements in film quality, as indicated by film densification, influenced the enhanced device performance. Continued research and improvements in treatment techniques associated with SLA could lead to even greater future improvements in device functionality and performance. Moreover, SLA stands out as a promising and cost-effective alternative to ELA since it offers greater energy efficiency and lower operational costs.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to show gratitude to JSPS Kakenhi No. 22K14291 for partial financial support.

Supporting Information Available

The Supporting Information is available free of charge at https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsomega.4c10687.

  • Transfer characteristics of a-IZO TFTs after SLA treatment at a fluence of 70, 80, 90, 100, and 110 mJ cm–2 and the summarized mobility, AFM profiles, and the deconvoluted O1s XPS analysis of the a-IZO films after SLA treatment at a fluence of 70, 80, 90, 100, and 110 mJ cm–2 (PDF)

The authors declare no competing financial interest.

Supplementary Material

ao4c10687_si_001.pdf (443.1KB, pdf)

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