Semiconductor performance of rare earth gadolinium-doped aluminum–zinc oxide thin film

Rare earth element gadolinium-doped aluminum–zinc oxide (Gd–AZO) semiconductor thin film material was deposited on both silicon and glass substrate by radio frequency (RF) sputtering at room temperature. Electrical properties and microstructure of Gd–AZO thin film were mainly modulated by altering O2 partial pressure (OPP) during the RF sputtering process. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) test were carried out to uncover the microstructure variation trend with the sputtering OPP, and amorphous structure which is beneficial to large mass industry manufacture was also demonstrated by the XRD pattern. Transmittance in visible light spectrum implies the potential application for Gd–AZO to be used in transparent material field. Finally, bottom gate, top contact device structure thin film transistors (TFTs) with Gd–AZO thin film as the active channel layer were fabricated to verify the semiconductor availability of Gd–AZO thin film material. Besides, the Gd–AZO TFTs exhibit preferable transfer and output characteristics.