Effective Positive Bias Recovery for Negative Bias Stressed sol-gel IGZO Thin-film Transistors

Solution-processed oxide thin-film transistors (TFTs) have garnered great attention, owing to their many advantages, such as low-cost, large area available for fabrication, mechanical flexibility, and optical transparency. Negative bias stress (NBS)-induced instability of solgel IGZO TFTs is one of the biggest concerns arising in practical applications. Thus, understanding the bias stress effect on the electrical properties of sol-gel IGZO TFTs and proposing an effective recovery method for negative bias stressed TFTs is required. In this study, we investigated the variation of transfer characteristics and the corresponding electrical parameters of sol-gel IGZO TFTs caused by NBS and positive bias recovery (PBR). Furthermore, we proposed an effective PBR method for the recovery of negative bias stressed sol-gel IGZO TFTs. The threshold voltage and field-effect mobility were affected by NBS and PBR, while current on/off ratio and subthreshold swing were not significantly affected. The transfer characteristic of negative bias stressed IGZO TFTs increased in the positive direction after applying PBR with a negative drain voltage, compared to PBR with a positive drain voltage or a drain voltage of 0 V. These results are expected to contribute to the reduction of recovery time of negative bias stressed sol-gel IGZO TFTs.