Metal-Oxide Thin-Film Transistors for Flexible Electronics

Flexible electronic devices have been extensively researched in industries and research institutions with an aim to create new conceptual electronics such as flexible and bendable devices. Metal-oxide (MO) semiconductors have attracted a great deal of interest because of their relatively high carrier mobility and better operational stability over amorphous silicon thin-film transistors (a-Si:H) and organic thin-film transistors (TFTs). The most intriguing advantages of using MO semiconductor TFTs in flat-panel displays is the large-area scalability by relatively simple fabrication processes compared to low-temperature polycrystalline silicon (LTPS) TFT technology. Vacuum deposition processes are now widely used in flat-panel display manufacturing, and sputtering technology is one of the most mature technologies among many other deposition techniques. Solution-processed MO TFT is becoming one of the essential technologies for future flexible electronics because of its high electrical performance with reasonable reliability.