In/Ga-free, inkjet-printed charge transfer doping for solution-processed ZnO

An In/Ga-free doping method of zinc oxide (ZnO) is demonstrated utilizing a printable charge transfer doping layer (CTDL) based on (3-aminopropyl) triethoxysilane (APS) molecules. The self-assembled APS molecules placed on top of ZnO thin films lead to n-type doping of ZnO and filling shallow electron traps, due to the strong electron-donating characteristics of the amine group in APS molecules. The CTDL doping can tune the threshold voltage and the mobility of the ZnO thin-film transistors (TFTs) as one varies the grafting density of the APS molecules and the thickness of the underneath ZnO thin films. From an optimized condition, high-performance ZnO TFTs can be achieved that exhibit an electron mobility of 4.2 cm²/(V s), a threshold voltage of 10.5 V, and an on/off current ratio larger than 10⁷. More importantly, the method is applicable to simple inkjet processes, which lead to produce high-performance depletion load ZnO inverters through selective deposition of CTDL on ZnO thin films.