Strategies For High-Performance Amorphous Indium-Gallium-Zinc Oxide Schottky Contact Via Defect-Induced Physical Interface Modification

The research on amorphous indium-gallium-zinc oxide (IGZO) Schottky contacts has received much attention for various electronic applications due to their high uniformity, excellent electrical properties, and large band gap. However, noble metal/IGZO Schottky contact is often challenged by chemical reaction at the interface between the noble metal and IGZO. Herein, we present a strategy to form the Schottky barrier via a defect-induced physical interface modification (DIPIM) process using defect engineering of the insulator. We show that high-quality IGZO can be formed for high-performance Schottky contact without chemical reaction by inserting defect-induced Al2O3 between Pd and IGZO. DIPIM ensures an oxygen-rich environment in IGZO at the Pd/IGZO interface, reducing the level of oxygen vacancy defects and suppressing the In metal reduction. Using this process, we improved the Pd/IGZO Schottky characteristics such as the high rectifying ratio by suppressing the leakage current. Furthermore, the Schottky barrier is consistent with the theoretical value of the Schottky-Mott relationship. We believe that this strategy not only provides a suitable platform for high-performance IGZO Schottky contact by preventing the chemical interaction between the noble metal and IGZO but also accelerates the development of practical IGZO Schottky contact application devices.