Transparent oxide semiconductor thin film transistors

• US 7,067,843 B2
• Filed: 09/24/2003
• Issued: 06/27/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 10/11/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Display Company Limited (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (Corteva, Inc.)
• Inventors: McLean, Robert Scott, Carcia, Peter Francis
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, Thao P.
• Application Number:
  US10/669,940
• Publication Number:
  US 20040127038A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,007 Days
• Field of Search: 257/59
• US Class Current: 257/59
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 14/086 of zinc, germanium, cadmium, indium, tin, thallium or bismuth
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02422 Non-crystalline insulating materials, e.g. glass, polymers
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02554 Oxides
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02565 Oxide semiconducting materials not being Group 12/16 materials, e.g. ternary compounds
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/0262 Reduction or decomposition of gaseous compounds, e.g. CVD
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02631 Physical deposition at reduced pressure, e.g. MBE, sputtering, evaporation
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/66969 of devices having semiconductor bodies not comprising group 14 or group 13/15 materials comprising selenium or tellurium in uncombined form other than as impurities in semiconductor bodies of other materials, comprising cuprous oxide or cuprous iodide H01L21/02365
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/7869 having a semiconductor body comprising an oxide semiconductor material, e.g. zinc oxide, copper aluminium oxide, cadmium stannate

Abstract

Transistors fabricated with transparent oxide semiconductors are provided. The semiconductors are metal oxides deposited without the intentional incorporation of additional doping elements, and enable the fabrication of transparent thin film transistors. The transparent transistors can be used to control pixels in a display, without significantly reducing the active area of the pixels.

Claims

1. A transistor comprising a an undoped, transparent, metal oxide semiconductor electrically coupled between a source electrode and a drain electrode, and a gate electrode electrically coupled to said undoped transparent metal oxide semiconductor, such that the application of a bias to the gate electrode controls electric current flow in the undoped transparent metal oxide semiconductor between source and drain electrodes.

2. A flat panel display comprising one or an array of transparent oxide semiconductor transistors as recited in claim 1.

3. An active matrix imager comprising an array of transparent oxide semiconductor transistors as recited in claim 1.

4. A sensor comprising an array of transparent oxide semiconductor transistors as recited in claim 1.

5. A rf price label comprising an array of transparent oxide semiconductor transistors as recited in claim 1.

6. A rf identification tag comprising an array of transparent oxide semiconductor transistors as recited in claim 1.

7. A rf inventory tag comprising an array of transparent oxide semiconductor transistors as recited in claim 1.

8. The transistor of claim 1 deposited on a flexible substrate.

9. The transistor of claim 1 further comprising a gate electrode, and wherein said source, drain and gate electrodes are fabricated from a material selected from the group consisting of zinc oxide, indium oxide, tin oxide, and cadmium oxide.

10. The transistor of claim 8 further comprising a gate dielectric fabricated from a material selected from the group consisting of zinc oxide, indium oxide, tin oxide, and cadmium oxide.

11. The transistor of claim 1 wherein said updoped, transparent metal oxide semiconductor comprises at least one oxide selected from:

zinc oxide, indium oxide, tin oxide, and cadmium oxide.