Process development of ITO source/drain electrode for the top-gate indium–gallium–zinc oxide transparent thin-film transistor

Indium–tin oxide (ITO) has been widely used as electrodes for LCDs and OLEDs. The applications are expanding to the transparent thin-film transistors (TTFTS) for the versatile circuits or transparent displays. This paper is related with optimization of ITO source and drain electrode for TTFTs on glass substrates. For example, un-etched ITO remnants, which frequently found in the wet etching process, often originate from unsuitable ITO formation processes. In order to improve them, an ion beam deposition method is introduced, which uses for forming a seed layer before the main ITO deposition. We confirm that ITO films with seed layers are effective to obtain clean and smooth glass surfaces without un-etched ITO remnants, resulting in a good long-run electrical stability of the top-gate indium–gallium–zinc oxide-TTFT.