Transparent and flexible zinc oxide-based thin-film diodes and thin-film transistors: A review

Electronics today has evolved significantly, including its application in transparent and flexible devices. Flexible electronics offers new product concepts, including low production cost, low energy consumption, and sustainable and environmentally friendly materials. This concept leads to the development of novel materials that realize today’s requirements. Incorporating optically transparent and flexible thin-film-based devices into the electronic circuitry helps in maintaining high conductivity along with achieving the similar electronic behavior of the conventional electronic gadgets. Thin-film diodes (TFDs) and thin-film transistors (TFTs) are the core materials to be incorporated as building blocks for flexible devices. Among them, oxide-based thin films have been marked to be significant because of their efficient electrical performance, low temperature processing, and device flexibility. The present article reviews the concepts and application of zinc oxide (ZnO) as the semiconducting material for flexible thin-film devices. We also review flexible and transparent TFDs and TFTs that are based prominently on ZnO as the semiconducting material. Furthermore, the present issues have also been addressed.