In Situ Radiation Hardness Study of Amorphous Zn–In–Sn–O Thin-Film Transistors with Structural Plasticity and Defect Tolerance

Solution-processed metal-oxide thin-film transistors (TFTs) with different metal compositions are investigated for ex situ and in situ radiation hardness experiments against ionizing radiation exposure. The synergetic combination of structural plasticity of Zn, defect tolerance of Sn, and high electron mobility of In identifies amorphous zinc-indium-tin oxide (Zn-In-Sn-O or ZITO) as an optimal radiation-resistant channel layer of TFTs. The ZITO with an elemental blending ratio of 4:1:1 for Zn/In/Sn exhibits superior ex situ radiation resistance compared to In-Ga-Zn-O, Ga-Sn-O, Ga-In-Sn-O, and Ga-Sn-Zn-O. Based on the in situ irradiation results, where a negative threshold voltage shifts and a mobility increase as well as both off current and leakage current increase are observed, three factors are proposed for the degradation mechanisms: (i) increase of channel conductivity, (ii) interface-trapped and dielectric-trapped charge buildup, and (iii) trap-assisted tunneling in the dielectric. Finally, in situ radiation-hard oxide-based TFTs are demonstrated by employing a radiation-resistant ZITO channel, a thin dielectric (50 nm SiO2), and a passivation layer (PCBM for ambient exposure), which exhibit excellent stability with an electron mobility of ∼10 cm2/V s and aΔVth of <3 V under real-time (15 kGy/h) gamma-ray irradiation in an ambient atmosphere.