Heterogeneous Structural Evolution of In–Zn–O Thin Films during Annealing

Moffitt, Stephanie L.; Cao, Chuntian; Van Hest, Maikel M.; Schelhas, Laura T.; Steinrück, Hans-Georg; Toney, Michael F.

doi:10.1021/acs.jpcc.3c06410

Heterogeneous Structural Evolution of In–Zn–O Thin Films during Annealing

Journal Article · Fri Nov 17 23:00:00 EST 2023 · Journal of Physical Chemistry. C

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.3c06410· OSTI ID:2282302

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SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States); Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States); National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States); University Paderborn (Germany)
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States); University of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States)

Amorphous In-Zn-O (a-IZO) thin films are among the most promising transparent conducting materials. Applications of a-IZO include thin film transistors for display technology and photovoltaic devices. However, the use of this material in practical devices has been impeded by limitations in our understanding of the relationship between a-IZO film structure and electrical properties. Here, we use in situ X-ray reflectivity to provide experimental evidence for a vertically heterogeneous, thermally induced structural relaxation that had been predicted for amorphous oxide films but not previously observed. The structural relaxation is shown to be dependent on the thermal annealing environment. Complementary in situ current-voltage curves and ex situ Van der Pauw measurements further show that thermal annealing also influences the electrical performance of the films. Here our results suggest that both oxygen uptake and structural relaxation contribute to the reduction in free carriers within a-IZO films during postdeposition processing. The structural heterogeneity and loss of carriers that occur during thermal annealing are only partly reversible. We anticipate that this insight into the structure-processing-property relationships within a-IZO will help to enable a-IZO-based devices.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States); Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Materials Sciences & Engineering Division (MSE); German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC36-08GO28308; AC02-76SF00515

OSTI ID:: 2282302

Report Number(s):: NREL/JA--5900-88599; MainId:89378; UUID:61f93d1c-9cb2-4e35-aff8-3a39a14b886f; MainAdminId:71606

Journal Information:: Journal of Physical Chemistry. C, Journal Name: Journal of Physical Chemistry. C Journal Issue: 47 Vol. 127; ISSN 1932-7447

Publisher:: American Chemical SocietyCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
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thin film circuits
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Heterogeneous Structural Evolution of In–Zn–O Thin Films during Annealing

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