Hydrogen-Stable Top-Gate Self-Aligned a-IGZO TFT With Tungsten Nitride Barrier on Source/Drain

Heetae Kim; Hoseok Lee; Heesu Kim; Jungwoo Bong; Chihun Sung; Jeho Na; Bada Kim; Min Ju Kim; Keun Heo; Sung Haeng Cho; Byung Jin Cho

doi:10.1109/LED.2025.3632874

Hydrogen-Stable Top-Gate Self-Aligned a-IGZO TFT With Tungsten Nitride Barrier on Source/Drain

Heetae Kim
, Hoseok Lee
, Heesu Kim
, Jungwoo Bong
, Chihun Sung
, Jeho Na
, Bada Kim
, Min Ju Kim
, Keun Heo
, Sung Haeng Cho
, Byung Jin Cho^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Department of Semiconductor Science and Technology

Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
Jeonbuk National University
Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute
Dankook University

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › peer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

This study presents tungsten nitride (WN) as an effective hydrogen (H) barrier for source/drain (S/D) contacts in top-gate self-aligned (TG-SA) amorphous In-Ga-Zn-O (a-IGZO) thin-film transistors (TFTs). It was confirmed that the H could diffuse into the channel through the S/D contacts, affecting the carrier concentration (N_C) in the channel. By incorporating the WN as a H-barrier in the S/D contact stack, the fabricated TG-SA a-IGZO TFTs could maintain their electrical properties without any degradation even after forming gas anneal (FGA) at a temperature of 300°C.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	96-99
Number of pages	4
Journal	IEEE Electron Device Letters
Volume	47
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1109/LED.2025.3632874
State	Published - 2026

Keywords

Hydrogen diffusion
TG-SA a-IGZO TFTs
tungsten nitride

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10.1109/LED.2025.3632874

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@article{eb21b0e439d0491189d8283f1b6356fb,

title = "Hydrogen-Stable Top-Gate Self-Aligned a-IGZO TFT With Tungsten Nitride Barrier on Source/Drain",

abstract = "This study presents tungsten nitride (WN) as an effective hydrogen (H) barrier for source/drain (S/D) contacts in top-gate self-aligned (TG-SA) amorphous In-Ga-Zn-O (a-IGZO) thin-film transistors (TFTs). It was confirmed that the H could diffuse into the channel through the S/D contacts, affecting the carrier concentration (NC) in the channel. By incorporating the WN as a H-barrier in the S/D contact stack, the fabricated TG-SA a-IGZO TFTs could maintain their electrical properties without any degradation even after forming gas anneal (FGA) at a temperature of 300°C.",

keywords = "Hydrogen diffusion, TG-SA a-IGZO TFTs, tungsten nitride",

author = "Heetae Kim and Hoseok Lee and Heesu Kim and Jungwoo Bong and Chihun Sung and Jeho Na and Bada Kim and \{Ju Kim\}, Min and Keun Heo and \{Haeng Cho\}, Sung and \{Jin Cho\}, Byung",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 1980-2012 IEEE.",

year = "2026",

doi = "10.1109/LED.2025.3632874",

language = "English",

volume = "47",

pages = "96--99",

journal = "IEEE Electron Device Letters",

issn = "0741-3106",

number = "1",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Hydrogen-Stable Top-Gate Self-Aligned a-IGZO TFT With Tungsten Nitride Barrier on Source/Drain

AU - Kim, Heetae

AU - Lee, Hoseok

AU - Kim, Heesu

AU - Bong, Jungwoo

AU - Sung, Chihun

AU - Na, Jeho

AU - Kim, Bada

AU - Ju Kim, Min

AU - Heo, Keun

AU - Haeng Cho, Sung

AU - Jin Cho, Byung

PY - 2026

Y1 - 2026

N2 - This study presents tungsten nitride (WN) as an effective hydrogen (H) barrier for source/drain (S/D) contacts in top-gate self-aligned (TG-SA) amorphous In-Ga-Zn-O (a-IGZO) thin-film transistors (TFTs). It was confirmed that the H could diffuse into the channel through the S/D contacts, affecting the carrier concentration (NC) in the channel. By incorporating the WN as a H-barrier in the S/D contact stack, the fabricated TG-SA a-IGZO TFTs could maintain their electrical properties without any degradation even after forming gas anneal (FGA) at a temperature of 300°C.

AB - This study presents tungsten nitride (WN) as an effective hydrogen (H) barrier for source/drain (S/D) contacts in top-gate self-aligned (TG-SA) amorphous In-Ga-Zn-O (a-IGZO) thin-film transistors (TFTs). It was confirmed that the H could diffuse into the channel through the S/D contacts, affecting the carrier concentration (NC) in the channel. By incorporating the WN as a H-barrier in the S/D contact stack, the fabricated TG-SA a-IGZO TFTs could maintain their electrical properties without any degradation even after forming gas anneal (FGA) at a temperature of 300°C.

KW - Hydrogen diffusion

KW - TG-SA a-IGZO TFTs

KW - tungsten nitride

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105021657874

U2 - 10.1109/LED.2025.3632874

DO - 10.1109/LED.2025.3632874

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:105021657874

SN - 0741-3106

VL - 47

SP - 96

EP - 99

JO - IEEE Electron Device Letters

JF - IEEE Electron Device Letters

IS - 1

ER -

Hydrogen-Stable Top-Gate Self-Aligned a-IGZO TFT With Tungsten Nitride Barrier on Source/Drain

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Keywords

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