A High‐Hole Mobility Tellurium Transistor With Electron‐Donating Passivation Layer for Scalable, High‐Throughput Electronics

ABSTRACT The demand for high‐performance semiconductors that can be processed layer‐by‐layer at low temperatures is rapidly growing to overcome scaling limits in future electronics. Unlike well‐developed n‐type materials, achieving high‐performance p‐type counterparts remains challenging. Tellurium (Te) is a promising candidate due to its high intrinsic Hall mobility and compatibility with scalable fabrication. However, its thickness‐dependent trade‐off between mobility and switching hinders use as a channel layer. Here, we present a remote doping strategy for Te thin‐film transistors (TFTs) by employing a vapor‐phase deposited, electron‐donating polymeric passivation layer that induces an n‐doping effect in Te. The passivation layer enables near‐ideal transfer characteristics with a threshold voltage close to 0 V and an on/off current ratio >10 4 . It also enlarges the electron injection barrier, effectively suppressing off‐current without compromising charge transport. As a result, Te TFTs exhibit record‐high hole mobility (∼178 cm 2 V −1 s −1 ) with enhanced switching. A 15 × 9 Te TFT array further demonstrates 100% yield and excellent wafer‐scale uniformity. Leveraging low‐temperature, scalable fabrication, we realized intrinsically flexible Te TFTs, a unipolar inverter with high voltage gain (∼173 V/V), and a Te–IGZO CMOS inverter with low static power. This doping strategy represents a significant step toward high‐performance p‐type semiconductors.