Silver-doped tin oxide for electrical property enhancement in p-type channel thin film transistor

Though tin oxide (SnO) is one of the strong candidates for p-type oxide semiconductor thin film transistors (TFTs), poor properties and a narrow window of deposition condition are obstacles for implementation. An Ag-doped Sn thin film was studied for the improvement of electrical performance of TFTs. SnO and Ag-doped SnO thin films were deposited by direct current magnetron sputtering as the channel for thin film transistors. The concentration of Ag doping was controlled by the amount of Ag pellets in the sputtering target preparation. A change in oxide states was observed in an Ag-doped SnO film, which can lead to the reduction of the Sn4+ oxide phase. Ag-doped SnO showed improvement of carrier mobility and concentration and resulted in improved electrical characteristics.