The effect of moisture on the photon-enhanced negative bias thermal instability in Ga-In-Zn-O thin film transistors

• Published in: Applied physics letters Vol. 95; no. 23; pp. 232106 - 232106-3
• Main Authors: Lee, Kwang-Hee, Jung, Ji Sim, Son, Kyoung Seok, Park, Joon Seok, Kim, Tae Sang, Choi, Rino, Jeong, Jae Kyeong, Kwon, Jang-Yeon, Koo, Bonwon, Lee, Sangyun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: American Institute of Physics 07-12-2009
• ISSN: 0003-6951; 1077-3118
• DOI: 10.1063/1.3272015

We investigated the impact of photon irradiation on the stability of gallium-indium-zinc oxide (GIZO) thin film transistors. The application of light on the negative bias temperature stress (NBTS) accelerated the negative displacement of the threshold voltage
(
V
th
)
. This phenomenon can be attributed to the trapping of the photon-induced carriers into the gate dielectric/channel interface or the gate dielectric bulk. Interestingly, the negative
V
th
shift under photon-enhanced NBTS condition worsened in relatively humid environments. It is suggested that moisture is a significant parameter that induces the degradation of bias-stressed GIZO transistors.