Mechanical strain-induced defect states in amorphous silicon channel layers of thin-film transistors

Minsuk Kim, Hyungon Oh, Sukhyung Park, Kyoungah Cho, Sangsig Kim

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    4 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    In this study, we examined mechanical strain-induced defect states in hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) channel layers of thin-film transistors (TFTs) bent with a curvature radius of 18 mm. When strain is applied to the TFTs, our devices feature strain-induced variations in threshold voltage (~ 1.47 V), subthreshold swing (~ 0.36 V/dec), and field-effect mobility (~ 0.031 cm2 V− 1 s− 1). The electrical characteristics of a-Si:H TFTs on bendable substrates under mechanical strain are explained by the variation in the density of states (DOS) of defects in the channel layers. Our simulation work on the DOS in the a-Si:H channel layers under mechanical strain reveals that the mechanical strain causes not only the deformation of the density of mid-gap defect states but also an increase in the band-tail states within the band gap.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)43-46
    Number of pages4
    JournalThin Solid Films
    Volume641
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2017 Nov 1

    Bibliographical note

    Funding Information:
    This work was partly supported by a National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) Grant funded by the Korean government (MSIP) NRF-2013R1A2A1A03070750 , NRF-2015R1A2A1A15055437 , NRF-2015R1A5A7037674 , NRF-2015R1D1A1A01057641 ), the Brain Korea 21 Plus Project in 2016, and a grant from Samsung Display Co., Ltd.

    Publisher Copyright:
    © 2017 Elsevier B.V.

    Keywords

    • Bendability
    • Density of states
    • Flexible
    • Mechanical strain
    • Thin-film transistors

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
    • Surfaces and Interfaces
    • Surfaces, Coatings and Films
    • Metals and Alloys
    • Materials Chemistry

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