This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2014-0034818, filed on Mar. 25, 2014 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.
1. Field
The present disclosure relates to transistors, methods of manufacturing the same, and/or electronic devices including the transistors.
2. Description of Related Art
Transistors are widely used as switching devices or driving devices in the field of electronic devices. In particular, since some thin film transistors may be manufactured on a glass substrate or a plastic substrate, they are useful in the field of display apparatuses such as organic light-emitting display apparatuses or liquid crystal display apparatuses.
In order to improve an operational characteristic of a transistor, a method of applying an oxide semiconductor layer having a high charge mobility as a channel layer has been attempted. Such a method is mainly applied to a thin film transistor for display apparatuses. For a transistor having an oxide semiconductor layer as a channel layer (hereinafter, referred to as oxide transistor), it is desirable to control a threshold voltage, secure stability, and improve reliability. Thus, there is a demand for development of a transistor that may satisfy excellent switching characteristics and controlled threshold voltage and reliability characteristics while exhibiting high mobility characteristics.
Example embodiments relate to transistors exhibiting high mobility characteristics and excellent switching characteristics.
Provided are transistors of which characteristics such as a threshold voltage may be easily controlled.
Provided are transistors having high stability/reliability.
Provided are methods of manufacturing the transistors.
Provided are electronic devices including the transistors.
Additional aspects will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of example embodiments.
According to example embodiments, a transistor includes a gate, a channel layer that is separate from the gate, a gate insulating layer between the gate and the channel layer, the gate insulating layer including an impurity metal containing region that includes an impurity metal and contacts the channel layer and an impurity metal non-containing region that contacts the gate and is not doped with the impurity metal, and a source electrode and a drain electrode respectively contacting a first region and a second region of the channel layer.
In example embodiments, the impurity metal containing region may include iron (Fe) as the impurity metal.
In example embodiments, the impurity metal containing region may be in a surface portion of the gate insulating layer that contacts the channel layer, and a remaining portion of the gate insulating layer, which is separate from the surface portion, may not contain the impurity metal.
In example embodiments, the impurity metal containing region may have a thickness of about 5 nm or less.
In example embodiments, the channel layer may include at least one of an oxide semiconductor, an oxynitride semiconductor, an oxynitride semiconductor containing fluorine, a nitride semiconductor, and a nitride semiconductor containing fluorine.
In example embodiments, the channel layer may include at least one of a ZnO-based semiconductor, a SnO-based semiconductor, an InO-based semiconductor, a ZnON-based semiconductor, a ZnONF-based semiconductor, a ZnN-based semiconductor, and a ZnNF-based semiconductor.
In example embodiments, the channel layer may further include at least one of Li, K, Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba, Ga, Al, In, B, Si, Sn, Ge, Sb, Y, Ti, Zr, V, Nb, Ta, Sc, Hf, Mo, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, W, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Pm, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu, F, Cl, Br, I, S, and Se.
In example embodiments, the gate insulating layer may include at least one of a silicon oxide layer and a silicon nitride layer. The gate insulating layer may be one of a monolayer structure and a multilayer structure.
In example embodiments, the gate insulating layer may include a silicon nitride layer and a silicon oxide layer that are sequentially stacked, and the impurity metal containing region may be in a surface portion of the silicon oxide layer.
In example embodiments, the channel layer may be on top of the gate.
In example embodiments, the transistor may further include an etch stop layer on the channel layer.
In example embodiments, a threshold voltage of the transistor may be increased in a positive (+) direction due to the impurity metal containing region.
According to example embodiments, a display apparatus may include the above-described transistor.
In example embodiments, the display apparatus may be an organic light-emitting display apparatus or a liquid crystal display apparatus.
In example embodiments, the transistor may be used as a switching device or a driving device.
According to example embodiments, a method of manufacturing a transistor includes: forming a gate, forming a gate insulating layer covering the gate, forming an impurity metal containing region that includes an impurity metal in the gate insulating layer, forming a channel layer contacting the impurity metal containing region, the channel layer being separate from the gate; and forming a source electrode and a drain electrode that respectively contact a first region and a second region of the channel layer.
In example embodiments, the impurity metal containing region may include iron (Fe) as the impurity metal.
In example embodiments, the forming the impurity metal containing region may include processing a surface portion of the gate insulating layer using a solution containing the impurity metal.
In example embodiments, the solution containing a metal component may include at least one of FeCl2, FeCl3, Fe(NO3)3.9H2O, MEA, DGME, EG, AP, TEG, JPS-1300, and PRS-2000. MEA is “monoethanolamine”, DGME is “diethylene glycol monoethyl ether”, EG is “ethylene glycol”, AP is “1-amino-2-propanol”, and TEG is “tetraethylene glycol”. JPS-1300 is a product of J. T. Baker Chemical Co. and may include “1-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone”, “diethylene glycol monoethyl ether”, etc. PRS-2000 is a product of J. T. Baker Chemical Co. and may include “1-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone”, “diethylene glycol monoethyl ether”, “tetrahydrothiophene 1,1-dioxide”, “1-amino-2-propanol”, “tetraethylene glycol”, etc.
In example embodiments, the forming the impurity metal containing region may include the impurity metal into the surface portion of the gate insulating layer.
In example embodiments, the forming the impurity metal containing region may include forming a material layer on the gate insulating layer. The material layer may include the impurity metal.
In example embodiments, the channel layer may include at least one of an oxide semiconductor, an oxynitride semiconductor, an oxynitride semiconductor containing fluorine, a nitride semiconductor, and a nitride semiconductor containing fluorine.
In example embodiments, the channel layer may include at least one of a ZnO-based semiconductor, a SnO-based semiconductor, an InO-based semiconductor, a ZnON-based semiconductor, a ZnONF-based semiconductor, a ZnN-based semiconductor, and a ZnNF-based semiconductor.
In example embodiments, the impurity containing region may be a Fe containing region having a thickness of about 5 nm or less.
According to example embodiments, a transistor may include a gate; a channel layer that is separate from the gate, the channel layer including an inorganic semiconductor, the channel layer including an iron (Fe) containing region at a surface portion thereof; a source electrode and a drain electrode respectively contacting a first region and a second region of the channel layer; and a gate insulating layer between the channel layer and the gate.
In example embodiments, the channel layer may include at least one of an oxide semiconductor, an oxynitride semiconductor, an oxynitride semiconductor containing fluorine, a nitride semiconductor, and a nitride semiconductor containing fluorine.
In example embodiments, the channel layer may include at least one of a ZnO-based semiconductor, a SnO-based semiconductor, an InO-based semiconductor, a ZnON-based semiconductor, a ZnONF-based semiconductor, a ZnN-based semiconductor, and a ZnNF-based semiconductor.
In example embodiments, the iron (Fe) containing region may have a thickness of about 5 nm or less.
In example embodiments, the gate may be on top of the channel layer.
In example embodiments, the channel layer may be on top of the gate.
In example embodiments, the gate insulating layer may include an impurity metal containing region that includes an impurity metal at a surface portion of the gate insulating layer.
In example embodiments, the impurity metal containing region may be a region including iron (Fe) as the impurity metal.
According to example embodiments, a display apparatus may include the above-described transistor.
In example embodiments, the display apparatus may be an organic light-emitting display apparatus or a liquid crystal display apparatus.
In example embodiments, the transistor may be used as a switching device or a driving device.
According to example embodiments, a method of manufacturing a transistor including a channel layer, a source, a drain, a gate, and a gate insulating layer is provided. The method includes forming the channel layer, the channel layer including an inorganic semiconductor; forming an iron (Fe) containing region in a surface portion of the channel layer; and forming the gate insulating layer and the gate, the gate being separate from the channel layer, the gate insulating layer being between the gate and the channel layer.
In example embodiments, the forming the iron (Fe) containing region may include processing the surface portion of the channel layer using a solution containing an iron (Fe) component.
In example embodiments, the solution containing an iron (Fe) component may include at least one of FeCl2, FeCl3, Fe(NO3)3.9H2O, monoethanolamine (MEA), diethylene glycol monoethyl ether (DGME), ethylene glycol (EG), 1-amino-2-propanol (AP), tetraethylene glycol (TEG), 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone, tetrahydrothiophene 1,1-dioxide, and 1-amino-2-propanol
In example embodiments, the forming the iron (Fe) containing region may include injecting the iron (Fe) component into the surface portion of the gate insulating layer by using ion implantation.
In example embodiments, the channel layer may include at least one of an oxide semiconductor, an oxynitride semiconductor, an oxynitride semiconductor containing fluorine, a nitride semiconductor, and a nitride semiconductor containing fluorine.
In example embodiments, the channel layer may include at least one of a ZnO-based semiconductor, a SnO-based semiconductor, an InO-based semiconductor, a ZnON-based semiconductor, a ZnONF-based semiconductor, a ZnN-based semiconductor, and a ZnNF-based semiconductor.
In example embodiments, the method may further include forming an impurity metal containing region in a surface portion of the gate insulating layer. The impurity metal containing region may be a Fe containing region.
According to example embodiments, a transistor includes: a gate; a source electrode and a drain electrode spaced apart from each other; a channel layer, a gate insulating layer, and at least one impurity metal containing region between the gate and the source and the drain electrodes. The channel layer includes an inorganic semiconductor, a first region connected to the source electrode, and a second region connected to the drain electrode. The gate insulating layer is on top of one of the gate and the channel layer. An other of the gate and the channel layer is on top of the gate insulating layer. The impurity metal containing region is defined by a region containing an impurity metal in at least one of the gate insulating layer and the channel layer.
In example embodiments, the impurity metal may be iron (Fe).
In example embodiments, the impurity metal containing region may be defined by a region containing the impurity metal in the gate insulating layer. The impurity metal containing region may include a surface portion of the gate insulating layer that contacts the channel layer. A remaining portion of the gate insulating layer, which is separate from the impurity metal containing region, may be not doped with the impurity metal.
In example embodiments, the impurity metal containing region may be defined by a region containing the impurity metal in the channel layer. A remaining portion of the channel layer, which is separate from the impurity metal containing region, is not doped with the impurity metal.
In example embodiments, the channel layer may include at least one of an oxide semiconductor, an oxynitride semiconductor, an oxynitride semiconductor containing fluorine, a nitride semiconductor, and a nitride semiconductor containing fluorine.
These and/or other aspects will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of non-limiting embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the different views. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating principles of inventive concepts. In the drawings:
Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some example embodiments are shown. Example embodiments, may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these example embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of example embodiments of inventive concepts to those of ordinary skill in the art. In the drawings, the thicknesses of layers and regions are exaggerated for clarity. Like reference characters and/or numerals in the drawings denote like elements, and thus their description may be omitted.
It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being “connected” or “coupled” to another element, it can be directly connected or coupled to the other element or intervening elements may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly connected” or “directly coupled” to another element, there are no intervening elements present. As used herein the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. Expressions such as “at least one of,” when preceding a list of elements, modify the entire list of elements and do not modify the individual elements of the list.
It will be understood that, although the terms “first”, “second”, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another element, component, region, layer or section. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachings of example embodiments.
Spatially relative terms, such as “beneath,” “below,” “lower,” “above,” “upper” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. It will be understood that the spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented “above” the other elements or features. Thus, the exemplary term “below” can encompass both an orientation of above and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.
Example embodiments are described herein with reference to cross-sectional illustrations that are schematic illustrations of idealized embodiments (and intermediate structures) of example embodiments. As such, variations from the shapes of the illustrations as a result, for example, of manufacturing techniques and/or tolerances, are to be expected. Thus, example embodiments should not be construed as limited to the particular shapes of regions illustrated herein but are to include deviations in shapes that result, for example, from manufacturing. For example, an implanted region illustrated as a rectangle will, typically, have rounded or curved features and/or a gradient of implant concentration at its edges rather than a binary change from implanted to a non-implanted region. Likewise, a buried region formed by implantation may result in some implantation in the region between the buried region and the surface through which the implantation takes place. Thus, the regions illustrated in the figures are schematic in nature and their shapes are not intended to illustrate the actual shape of a region of a device and are not intended to limit the scope of example embodiments.
Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which example embodiments belong. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly-used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.
Hereinafter, transistors, methods of manufacturing transistors, and electronic devices including transistors according to example embodiments of inventive concepts will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. Also, the width and thickness of each layer or area illustrated in the drawings may be exaggerated for convenience of explanation and clarity. Like reference numerals in the drawings denote like elements.
Referring to
The channel layer C1 may be provided above the gate electrode G1. The width of the channel layer C1 in an X-axis direction may be greater than the width of the gate electrode G1 in the X-axis direction. However, in some cases, the width of the channel layer C1 may be similar to or less than the width of the gate electrode G1. The channel layer C1 may be formed of inorganic semiconductor. The channel layer C1 may include at least one of oxide semiconductor, oxynitride semiconductor, oxynitride semiconductor containing fluorine, nitride semiconductor, and nitride semiconductor containing fluorine. In a detailed example, the channel layer C1 may include at least one of a ZnO-based semiconductor, a SnO-based semiconductor, an InO-based semiconductor, a ZnON-based semiconductor, a ZnONF-based semiconductor, a ZnN-based semiconductor, and a ZnNF-based semiconductor. In this case, the channel layer C1 may further include an additional element X. The additional element X may include at least one of a group I element, a group II element, a group III element, a group IV element, a group V element, a transition metal element, and a lanthanide. In a detailed example, the additional element X may include at least one of Li, K, Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba, Ga, Al, In, B, Si, Sn, Ge, Sb, Y, Ti, Zr, V, Nb, Ta, Sc, Hf, Mo, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, W, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Pm, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, and Lu. Alternatively, the additional element X may include at least one of a group VI element and a group VII element. In a detailed example, the additional element X may include at least one of F, Cl, Br, I, S, and Se. The channel layer C1 may have a Hall mobility of about 10 cm2/Vs or more, or about 20 cm2/Vs or more. The Hall mobility of the channel layer C1 may be increased to about 100 cm2/Vs or more according to forming conditions. The carrier concentration of the channel layer C1 may be, for example, about 1011˜1018/cm3 or about 1012˜1017/cm3. The conductivity type of the channel layer C1 may be an n-type and thus the carrier concentration may signify a concentration of electrons. In the above description, ZnO, ZnON, ZnONF, ZnN, and ZnNF are a mere listing of constituent elements in which a composition ratio of the constituent elements is disregarded. For example, the expression “ZnONF” does not signify that a composition ratio of Zn, O, N, and F is 1:1:1:1, but signifies a material (a compound) that is merely formed with Zn, O, N, and F. This applies to the other parts of the present specification.
A gate insulating layer GI1 may be provided between the gate electrode G1 and the channel layer C1. The gate insulating layer GI1 may be provided on the substrate SUB1 and cover the gate electrode G1. The gate electrode G1 may be provided on the gate insulating layer GI1. The gate insulating layer GI1 may include a silicon oxide layer, a silicon oxynitride layer, or a silicon nitride layer, or may include another material layer, for example, a high-k material layer having a greater dielectric constant than that of the silicon nitride layer. The gate insulating layer GI1 may have a monolayer or multilayer structure including at least one of a silicon oxide layer, a silicon oxynitride layer, a silicon nitride layer, and a high-k material layer. In a detailed example, the gate insulating layer GI1 may have a stacked structure of a silicon nitride layer and a silicon oxide layer. In this case, the silicon nitride layer and the silicon oxide layer may be sequentially provided on the gate electrode G1. For example,
The gate insulating layer GI1 may include an impurity metal containing region 1. The impurity metal containing region 1 may be provided to contact the channel layer C1. The impurity metal containing region 1 may be provided in a surface portion of the gate insulating layer GI1. The channel layer C1 may be provided on the impurity metal containing region 1. In the gate insulating layer GI1, the other region (remaining portion) except for the impurity metal containing region 1 may be a region that does not contain impurity metal, that is, an “impurity metal non-containing region”. In other words, the impurity metal non-containing region may be a region that is not intentionally doped with the impurity metal. The impurity metal non-containing region may contact the gate electrode G1. In other words, the gate insulating layer GI1 may include the impurity metal containing region 1 contacting the channel layer C1 and the impurity metal non-containing region contacting the gate electrode G1. When the gate insulating layer GI1 includes the silicon nitride layer and the silicon oxide layer that are sequentially stacked, the impurity metal containing region 1 may be provided in a surface portion of the silicon oxide layer.
The impurity metal containing region 1 may be, for example, an iron (Fe) containing region. The impurity metal containing region 1 may be a region in which an iron component is contained in a base material (insulating material) which is the same as the other region (remaining portion) of the gate insulating layer GI1. Even when the impurity metal containing region 1 includes a metal such as iron (Fe), a concentration of the metal included in the impurity metal containing region 1 may be relatively low. Thus, the impurity metal containing region 1 may maintain “insulation characteristics”. Accordingly, the impurity metal containing region 1 may be an insulator, and may be considered as a part of the gate insulating layer GI1. The impurity metal containing region 1 may have a thickness of about 10 nm (e.g., between about 1 nm about 10 nm) or about 5 nm or less (e.g., between about 1 nm about 5 nm). The characteristics, such as a threshold voltage, of a transistor may be easily controlled by the impurity metal containing region 1 and also stability/reliability of the transistor may be improved due to the impurity metal containing region 1, which will be described later in more detail.
An etch stop layer ES1 may be provided on the channel layer C1. The width of the etch stop layer ES1 in the X-axis direction may be less than the width of the channel layer C1 in the X-axis direction. The opposite ends of the channel layer C1 may not be covered by the etch stop layer ES1. The etch stop layer ES1 may include, for example, silicon oxide, silicon oxynitride, silicon nitride, or an organic insulation material.
A source electrode S1 and a drain electrode D1 may be provided on the gate insulating layer GI1 to contact first and second regions, for example, opposite ends, of the channel layer C1, respectively. The source electrode S1 and the drain electrode D1 may have a monolayer structure or a multilayer structure. The source electrode S1 and the drain electrode D1 may be formed of a metal, an alloy, a conductive metal oxide, a conductive metal nitride, or the like. The material of the source electrode S1 and the drain electrode D1 may be substantially the same as or similar to that of the gate electrode G1. The source electrode S1 and the drain electrode D1 may be the same material layer as the gate electrode G1 or may be a different material layer from the gate electrode G1. The source electrode S1 may have a structure that contacts the first region, for example, one end, of the channel layer C1 and extends over one end of the etch stop layer ES1. The drain electrode D1 may have a structure that contacts the second region, for example, the other end, of the channel layer C1 and extends over the other end of the etch stop layer ES1. The etch stop layer ES1 may prevent the channel layer C1 from being damaged by etching performed in an etch process for forming the source electrode S1 and the drain electrode D1.
A passivation layer P1 may be provided on the gate insulating layer GI1 and covers the etch stop layer ES1, the source electrode S1, and the drain electrode D1. The passivation layer P1 may be a silicon oxide layer, a silicon oxynitride layer, a silicon nitride layer, or an organic layer, or a structure in which at least two thereof are stacked. For example, the passivation layer P1 may have a monolayer structure formed of silicon oxide or a silicon nitride, or a multilayer structure including a silicon oxide layer and a silicon nitride layer provided on the silicon oxide layer. Also, the passivation layer P1 may have a multilayer structure having a triple layer or more. In this case, the passivation layer P1 may sequentially include a silicon oxide layer, a silicon oxynitride layer, and a silicon nitride layer. In addition, the passivation layer P1 may have various structures. The thicknesses of the gate electrode G1, the gate insulating layer GI1, the source electrode S1, the drain electrode D1, and the passivation layer P1 may be about 50˜300 nm, about 50˜400 nm, about 10˜200 nm, about 10˜200 nm, and about 50˜1200 nm, respectively. However, a range of the thicknesses thereof may vary as occasion demands.
The use of the etch stop layer ES1 may be determined according to the material of the channel layer C1 and the materials of the source electrode S1 and the drain electrode D1. Alternatively, the use of the etch stop layer ES1 may be determined according to the etch process for forming the source electrode S1 and the drain electrode D1. Accordingly, in some cases, the etch stop layer ES1 may be excluded from the structure of
Referring to
In
Referring to
Next, a gate insulating layer GI10 may be formed on the substrate SUB10 so as to cover the gate electrode G10. The gate insulating layer GI10 may be formed of silicon oxide, silicon oxynitride, or silicon nitride, or may be formed of another material, for example, a high-k material having a greater dielectric constant than that of the silicon nitride. The gate insulating layer GI10 may be formed to have a monolayer or multilayer structure including at least one of a silicon oxide layer, a silicon oxynitride layer, a silicon nitride layer, and a high-k material layer. In a detailed example, the gate insulating layer GI10 may have a stacked structure of a silicon nitride layer and a silicon oxide layer. In this case, the silicon nitride layer and the silicon oxide layer may be sequentially stacked on the gate electrode G10, thereby forming the gate insulating layer GI10.
Referring to
The impurity metal containing region 10 may be a region containing, for example, iron (Fe). In this case, the solution containing a metal component may include at least one of, for example, FeCl2, FeCl3, Fe(NO3)3.9H2O, monoethanolamine (MEA), diethylene glycol monoethyl ether (DGME), ethylene glycol (EG), 1-amino-2-propanol (AP), tetraethylene glycol (TEG), JPS-1300, and PRS-2000. JPS-1300 that is a product of J. T. Baker Chemical Co. may include “1-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone” and “diethylene glycol monoethyl ether” and further include an amine-based material, a glycol-based material, or a desired (and/or alternatively predetermined) solvent. PRS-2000 that is a product of J. T. Baker Chemical Co. may include “1-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone”, “diethylene glycol monoethyl ether”, “tetrahydrothiophene 1,1-dioxide”, “1-amino-2-propanol”, “tetraethylene glycol”, etc. Among the above materials, FeCl2, FeCl3, and Fe(NO3)3.9H2O may be dissolved in water (deionized water) to an appropriate concentration, for example, about a few to several hundreds of micromoles, to be used in a solution state. On the other hand, MEA, DGME, EG, AP, TEG, JPS-1300, and PRS-2000 may be materials in a solution state including an organic solvent. These materials may include an iron (Fe) component. Alternatively, an external iron (Fe) component may be added to the materials. The solution containing a metal component may have a pH of about 6˜11. Since reactivity of the surface processing (surface treatment) may vary according to pH of the solution, it may be suitable that the solution has a pH of about 6˜11. However, a suitable range of pH may vary as occasion demands. The impurity metal containing region 10 may be formed through a dipping process in which the substrate SUB10, on which the gate insulating layer GI10 is formed, is dipped in the solution containing a metal component for a desired (and/or alternatively predetermined) time, for example, a few seconds to several hours or about one minute to about 10 minutes. An ultrasonic application process may be performed during the dipping process, as necessary. A cleaning process may be performed after the dipping process. The cleaning process may be performed by sequentially using, for example, 2-propanol and deionized (DI) water. Each of the 2-propanol and the DI water may be used in the cleaning process for about 5 minutes. However, the cleaning solution or the cleaning time may be variously changed.
Referring to
Next, the semiconductor layer C100 may be annealed, that is, thermally treated. The annealing may be performed at a temperature of about 450° C. or lower, for example, about 150˜450° C. Also, the annealing may be performed in a N2, O2, or air atmosphere. The semiconductor layer C100 may be stabilized through the annealing. Also, a protection film (not shown) may be thinly formed on a surface portion of the semiconductor layer C100 by the annealing. The protection film may be a surface oxide film or an oxygen-rich material film. The protection film may have a density that is relatively higher than that of the semiconductor layer C100 thereunder. The annealing process may be performed at a different point of time. For example, the annealing process may be performed after the semiconductor layer C100 is patterned, as illustrated in
A channel layer C10 may be formed by patterning the semiconductor layer C100, as illustrated in
When the channel semiconductor layer C100 is patterned (etched), the impurity metal containing region 10 may be patterned (etched) also. In other words, the impurity metal containing region 10 may be patterned into the same planar shape as the channel layer C10. The patterned impurity metal containing region is indicated by a reference number 10′. A gate insulating layer, including the patterned impurity metal containing region 10′, is indicated by a reference number GI10″. However, in some cases, the impurity metal containing region 10 may maintain the shape as illustrated in
Referring to
Next, a source electrode S10 and a drain electrode D10 may be formed on the gate insulating layer GI10″ to respectively contact first and second regions, for example, the opposite sides, of the channel layer C10. The source electrode S10 may have a structure contacting the first region (one end) and extending over one end of the etch stop layer ES10. The drain electrode D10 may have a structure contacting the second region (the other end) and extending over the other end of the etch stop layer ES10. After a desired (and/or alternatively predetermined) conductive film is formed on the gate insulating layer GI10″ to cover the channel layer C10 and the etch stop layer ES10, the conductive film may be patterned (etched) so as to form the source electrode S10 and the drain electrode D10. In doing so, the etch stop layer ES10 may prevent the channel layer C10 from being damaged by an etch process for forming the source electrode S10 and the drain electrode D10. The source electrode S10 and the drain electrode D10 may be the same material layer as the gate electrode G10 or may be a different material layer therefrom. The source electrode S10 and the drain electrode D10 may be formed in a monolayer or multilayer structure.
Referring to
The impurity metal of the impurity metal containing region 10 and/or 10′ may be diffused into a portion of the channel (semiconductor) layer C100 and/or C10 adjacent thereto by the annealing process described with reference to
The manufacturing method described with reference to
Also, the process of forming the impurity metal containing region 10 in
Referring to
The channel layer C2 may include an impurity metal containing region 2 in a surface portion thereof. The impurity metal containing region 2 may be a region containing, for example, iron (Fe). The impurity metal containing region 2 may be a region containing an iron (Fe) component in a base material (semiconductor material) that is the same as the other region (remaining portion) of the channel layer C2. Even when the impurity metal containing region 2 includes a metal such as iron (Fe), a concentration of the included metal may be relatively low and the impurity metal containing region 2 may maintain “semiconductor characteristics”. Accordingly, the impurity metal containing region 2 may be a semiconductor and may be regarded as a portion of the channel layer C2. The impurity metal containing region 2 may have a thickness of about 10 nm or less (e.g., between about 1 nm about 10 nm) or about 5 nm or less (e.g., between about 1 nm about 5 nm). The other region (remaining portion) of the channel layer C2, except for the impurity metal containing region 2, may not include iron (Fe) as an impurity metal. In other words, the other region (remaining portion) of the channel layer C2 may not be intentionally doped with iron (Fe) as an impurity metal.
The gate insulating layer GI2 may be provided on the substrate SUB2 so as to cover the channel layer C2, the source electrode S2, and the drain electrode D2. The gate electrode G2 may be provided on the gate insulating layer GI2. The gate electrode G2 may be located above the channel layer C2. A passivation layer P2 may be further provided on the gate insulating layer GI2 to cover the gate electrode G2.
The material and thickness of each the substrate SUB2, the source electrode S2, the drain electrode D2, the gate insulating layer GI2, the gate electrode G2, and passivation layer P2 in
The gate insulating layer GI2 may be a monolayer or a multilayer structure. For example,
Referring to
Although
Example embodiments of inventive concepts may be applied to a thin film transistor having a self-aligned top gate structure, in addition to the structures illustrated in
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
The above-described manufacturing method of
Referring to
In comparison between
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In comparison between
It may be seen from the results of
Table 1 shows a result of a secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) analysis for measuring content of iron (Fe) of a surface portion of a gate insulating layer according to a type of a surface treatment agent when a surface of the gate insulating layer is processed with a variety of surface treatment agents. In other words, after a SiO2 layer included in the gate insulating layer is processed with a variety of surface treatment agents, SIMS analysis is performed on the surface-processed SiO2 layer. The Fe content is an amount relative to other components and a unit thereof is arbitrary unit (a.u.).
Referring to Table 1, for the cases of “No treatment” that is not surface-processed or NMP treatment that is not effective, Fe is not detected. When FeCl2 solution, FeCl3 solution, MEA, DGME, or JPS-1300 which are effective is used, Fe is detected. The chemical name of NMP is N-methylpyrrolidone. The chemical names or the material compositions of MEA, DGME, and JPS-1300 are the same as those described above.
Table 2 shows a result of an inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) analysis on the contents of respective components of a surface treatment agent. Table 2 shows the contents of Fe of various surface treatment agents. The unit of Fe content is parts per billion (ppb). “ND” in Table 2 denotes that the corresponding component (e.g., Fe content) is not detected.
Referring to Table 2, for NMP that is not effective, Fe is not detected. For EG, MEA, and JPS-1300 which are effective for Example embodiments of inventive concepts, a considerable amount of the Fe component is detected. It may be seen from the above result that the Fe content of a surface treatment agent that may have an effect may be several parts per billion (ppb) to several parts per million (ppm).
It may be seen from the results of Tables 1 and 2 that the various effects according to example embodiments may be obtained as a metal component such as Fe of the surface treatment agent is added to a surface of the gate insulating layer.
Table 3 shows a change in the work function of the surface portion of the gate insulating layer before/after the surface treatment of the gate insulating layer. In other words, Table 3 shows work functions that are measured before/after the SiO2 layer of the gate insulating layer is processed with a surface treatment agent containing an iron (Fe) component. Ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) is used for the measurement of a work function. Here, as an ultraviolet (UV) source, He2 of about 40.8 eV is used.
Referring to Table 3, it may be seen that a work function is increased by about 1.5 eV by the surface treatment. The work function of the surface portion of the gate insulating layer may be increased by the impurity metal containing region. Accordingly, the impurity metal containing region may function as a surface dipole layer.
Referring to
The gate insulating layer GI4 may be substantially the same as or similar to the gate insulating layer GI1 of
The structure of
Referring to
As illustrated in
The structures of
Referring to
Additionally, a second gate insulating layer G17 may be provided to cover the etch stop layer ES6 and the source/drain electrodes S6 and D6. A second gate electrode G7 may be provided on the second gate insulating layer G17. Although it is not illustrated, a passivation layer may be further provided on the second gate insulating layer GI7 to cover the second gate electrode G7. The etch stop layer ES6 may not be provided and other various modified structures may be possible. For example,
When a double gate structure as in
Table 4 below shows the structure and formation conditions of sample transistors according to example embodiments.
Gate insulating layers of transistor samples #1˜#5 of Table 4 have a structure in which a SiNx layer having a thickness of about 350 nm and a SiOx layer having a thickness of about 50 nm are sequentially stacked, and a channel layer is formed of ZnONF with a thickness of about 35 nm. Surfaces of gate insulating layers of all transistor samples #1˜#5 are processed by using JPS-1300 for about 6 minutes. The surface of the channel layer of the transistor sample #1 is processed by using DGME. The surface of the channel layer of the transistor sample #2 is processed by using AP. The surface of the channel layer of the transistor sample #3 is processed by using TEG. The surface of the channel layer of the transistor sample #4 is processed by using a FeCl2 solution at a concentration of about 30 μM. When the surfaces of the channel layers of the transistor samples #1 to #3 are processed by using the corresponding solutions, an ultrasonic application process is simultaneously performed.
Referring to
Table 5 below shows threshold voltages (Vth) and OFF-currents (Ioff) of various transistor samples of Table 4 (
Referring to Table 5, it may be seen that the threshold voltages of samples #1˜#4 are about 1.5 to 2 times greater than the threshold voltage Vth of sample #5. Also, the OFF-currents Ioff of samples #1˜#4 are lower than the OFF-current Ioff of sample #5. It may be seen from the above result that the characteristics of a transistor may be controlled and improved by doping impurity metal through a solution processing of a surface portion of the channel layer as in the structure of
The transistor according example embodiments of inventive concepts may be applied to a display apparatus such as an organic light-emitting apparatus or a liquid crystal display apparatus, as a switching device or a driving device. As described above, since the transistor according example embodiments of inventive concepts has a high mobility, excellent switching characteristics, a controlled threshold voltage, and high reliability/stability, the performance of a display apparatus may be improved when the transistor is applied to the display apparatus. Accordingly, a transistor according example embodiments of inventive concepts may be applied to implement a next generation high performance/high resolution/large-size display apparatus. Also, the transistor according example embodiments of inventive concepts may be variously used in not only displays but also in the fields of other electronic devices such as memory devices and logical devices.
Referring to
Referring to
A stacked structure SS30 in which a gate insulating layer GI30 and a gate electrode G30 are sequentially stacked may be disposed on the channel layer C7 of the active layer A20. A source electrode S7 and a drain electrode D7 may be disposed on the substrate SUB20 to contact sides of the channel layer C7. A material, properties, characteristics, and modifications of the source, drain, and gate electrodes S7, D7, and G30 may be the same as the source, drain, and gate electrodes S1, D1, and G1 described previously with regard to
An interlayer insulating layer ILD20 that covers the gate electrode G30, and the source and drain electrodes S7 and D7 be disposed on the substrate SUB20. First and second electrodes E21 and E22 that are electrically connected to the source and drain electrodes S7 and D7 may be disposed on the interlayer insulating layer ILD20. The source electrode S7 and the first electrode E21 may be connected to each other through a conductive plug PG21, and the drain electrode D7 and the second electrode E22 may be connected to each other through a second conductive plug PG22. The first and second electrodes E21 and E22 may be respectively referred to as a source pad and a drain pad. A passivation layer (not shown) that covers the first and second electrodes E21 and E22 may be further disposed on the interlayer insulating layer ILD20.
A material, properties, characteristics, and modifications of the gate insulating layer GI30 may be the same as the gate insulating layer GI1 described previously with regard to
Referring to
Although some example embodiments are described in detail in the above description, example embodiments are not limited to the above-discussed embodiments. Those of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate that the constituent elements and structure of the above-described transistors according to example embodiments may be variously altered. For example, although in the above description the impurity metal containing region is formed in the gate insulating layer and/or the channel layer, the impurity metal containing region may be formed in an electrode/conductor (e.g., metal and so on). Also, the channel layer may have a multilayer structure having two or more layers and the transistor may have a double gate structure. The manufacturing method of
It should be understood that example embodiments described herein should be considered in a descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation. Descriptions of features or aspects within each device or method according to example embodiments should typically be considered as available for other similar features or aspects in other devices or methods according to example embodiments. While some example embodiments have been particularly shown and described, it will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that variations in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20150280000 A1 | Oct 2015 | US |