Low temperature atomic layer deposition of zirconium oxide for inkjet printed transistor applications

Abstract

We report the growth of zirconium oxide (ZrO₂) as a high-k gate dielectric for an inkjet-printed transistor using a low-temperature atomic layer deposition (ALD) from tetrakis(dimethylamido)zirconium (TDMAZr) and water precursors. All the samples are deposited at low-temperature ranges of 150–250 °C. The films are very uniform with RMS roughness less than 4% with respect to their thickness. The atomic force microscopy (AFM) shows a significant change in surface morphology from tapered posts to undulating mountain-like structures with several hundreds of ALD cycles. The results from X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis exhibit an amorphous to the crystalline structure with temperature variation, which is independent of the thickness of the films. All our samples are hydrophilic as contact angles are less than 90°. The capacitance–voltage (C–V) and conductance–voltage (G_p/ω–V) characteristics of ZrO₂ dielectrics for silicon metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) capacitors are studied for different temperatures. For the n-type substrate MOS capacitors, the dielectric constants are estimated to be 7.5–11. Due to the low deposition temperature, a hydrophilic surface, and high k value, the ALD-ZrO₂ dielectric can be compatible for printed transistors. The processes of fabrication and characterization of inkjet-printed graphene transistors is demonstrated using the ZrO₂ dielectric. The possible solvents, surfactant, and the dielectric induced modifications in graphene flakes are demonstrated by Raman spectra. The graphene flakes spread uniformly on the ZrO₂ surface. The functional inkjet-printed graphene transistor characteristics are demonstrated to illustrate the field effect behavior with the ALD-ZrO₂ dielectric.