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Analysis of the valence state of tin in ZnSnOx thin-film transistors

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Abstract

Zinc tin oxide (ZTO) thin-film transistors (TFTs) were fabricated using the co-sputtering method with Sn and zinc oxide (ZnO) as targets. The Sn-sputtering power was varied to optimize the device performance of the ZTO TFTs. The chemical states of Sn3d and O 1s at the surface of the ZTO films were analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to explain the effect of different Sn contents of the ZTO films on the device performance of the ZTO TFTs. The oxygen vacancy and the ratio of Sn4+ and Sn2+ were found to significantly effect on the device performance. When the ZTO film has the highest concentration of Sn4+ and lowest content of oxygen vacancy, the device achieves the optimal mobility of 15.67 cm2/Vs, and the on–off current ratio reaches 1.17 × 108.

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The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding authors upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to project support of Jilin Provincial Department of science and technology (Grant Nos. 20210203021SF and 20210506035ZP) and Jilin Provincial Department of education (Grant No. JJKH20220272KJ). The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support from Key Laboratory for Comprehensive Energy Saving of Cold Regions Architecture of Ministry of Education, Jilin Jianzhu University in Changchun Province (Grant No. JLZHKF022021005).

Funding

This research was funded by Jilin Provincial Department of Education (Grant No. JJKH20220272KJ) and the Department of Science and Technology of Jilin Province (Grant Nos. 20210203021SF and 20210506035ZP).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory for Comprehensive Energy Saving of Cold Regions Architecture of Ministry of Education, Jilin Jianzhu University, Changchun, 130118, China

    Mingzhou Lei, Liang Guo, Chong Wang, Chao Wang, Xuefeng Chu, Fan Yang, Xiaohong Gao, Huan Wang, Yaodan Chi & Xiaotian Yang

  2. School of Electrical and Computer Science, Jilin Jianzhu University, Changchun, 130118, China

    Mingzhou Lei, Chong Wang, Chao Wang, Xuefeng Chu, Fan Yang, Xiaohong Gao & Yaodan Chi

  3. Department of Basic Science, Jilin Jianzhu University, Changchun, 130118, China

    Liang Guo

  4. Department of Chemistry, Jilin Normal University, Siping, 136000, China

    Xiaotian Yang

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  1. Mingzhou Lei
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Contributions

LG and ML: conceptualization and methodology. ML: data management. LG and XC: method. CW and ML: experimental validation. ML, XG, YC, and XY: project management. ML, FY, HW, YC, and XY: capital acquisition and resources. ML: writing—first draft preparation. LG and ML: writing—review and editing. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Liang Guo or Xiaotian Yang.

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Lei, M., Guo, L., Wang, C. et al. Analysis of the valence state of tin in ZnSnOx thin-film transistors. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 33, 24785–24793 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-022-09190-w

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