Article abstract


Nature Materials 8, 898 - 903 (2009)
Published online: 18 October 2009 | doi:10.1038/nmat2560

Subject Categories: Ceramics | Structural materials | Electronic materials

Solution-deposited sodium beta-alumina gate dielectrics for low-voltage and transparent field-effect transistors

Bhola N. Pal1, Bal Mukund Dhar1, Kevin C. See1 & Howard E. Katz1


Sodium beta-alumina (SBA) has high two-dimensional conductivity, owing to mobile sodium ions in lattice planes, between which are insulating AlOx layers. SBA can provide high capacitance perpendicular to the planes, while causing negligible leakage current owing to the lack of electron carriers and limited mobility of sodium ions through the aluminium oxide layers. Here, we describe sol–gel-beta-alumina films as transistor gate dielectrics with solution-deposited zinc-oxide-based semiconductors and indium tin oxide (ITO) gate electrodes. The transistors operate in air with a few volts input. The highest electron mobility, 28.0 cm2 V-1 s-1, was from zinc tin oxide (ZTO), with an on/off ratio of 2times104. ZTO over a lower-temperature, amorphous dielectric, had a mobility of 10 cm2 V-1 s-1. We also used silicon wafer and flexible polyimide–aluminium foil substrates for solution-processed n-type oxide and organic transistors. Using poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) poly(styrenesulphonate) conducting polymer electrodes, we prepared an all-solution-processed, low-voltage transparent oxide transistor on an ITO glass substrate.

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  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, USA

Correspondence to: Howard E. Katz1 e-mail: hekatz@jhu.edu



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