arXiv subjects

Ananth Dodabalapur

Publications and source records attributed to Ananth Dodabalapur.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Physical Basis for Band Transport and Dimensionality in Amorphous Oxide Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistors

A consistent and widely accepted physical basis for interpretation of charge transport in amorphous oxide semiconductor (AOS) field-effect transistors (FETs), and more generally device physics, has been hampered by uncertainties in crystalline order, dimensionality, and the effects of a significant density of traps. The overarching theme of this paper is to build and justify a much-needed conceptual framework for describing advanced AOS transistors, particularly those with very small channel lengths. Combining new work and selecting prior research results on charge transport and device physics together with literature reports from various groups on morphology, physical properties, electronic structure and percolation effects, the main evidence that is available in support of a trap-influenced band transport picture in quasi-2-dimensional channels in high mobility AOS FETs is presented.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2026

Velocity-field characteristics and device performance in nanoscale amorphous oxide Thin-Film-Transistors

The electron velocity-electric field characteristics in short channel length (50-100 nm) amorphous oxide field-effect transistors (FETs) are described using measured experimental data from indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO) FETs in conjunction with a physics-based model. Such understanding is crucial for the design of FETs for emerging applications such as in back-end-of-line circuitry for advanced memories and artificial intelligence hardware. In such semiconductor systems, there is an interplay between trapping and extended state (band) transport that has to be considered in detail for a more complete physical understanding of device operation. The approach described in this paper demonstrates such a method and its use for an exemplary semiconductor IGZO. It can be used in many emerging thin-film semiconductors, including several amorphous oxide semiconductors. The carrier mobility is calculated for dominant scattering mechanisms such as trapped carrier scattering and optical phonon scattering. The carrier velocity is computed from the mobility using a modified Caughey-Thomas equation. The physical model considers contact resistance, Joule heating, and electric-field-induced carrier heating, all of which are very important in small geometry FETs. The carrier velocity exhibits a tendency to saturate at high electric fields and reaches values > 2*10^6 cm/s when averaged over all induced carriers (both trapped and in the band) and > 4*10^6 cm/s for carriers in the band.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2025

Enhancing Gate Control and Mitigating Short Channel Effects in 20-50 nm Channel Length Amorphous Oxide Thin Film Transistors

Field-effect transistors (FETs) with single gates are adversely affected by short channel effects such as drain-induced barrier lowering (DIBL) and increases in the magnitude of sub-threshold swing as the channel length is reduced. Dual-gate and gate-all-around geometries are often employed to improve gate control in very short channel length transistors. This can introduce significant process complexity to the device fabrication compared to single-gate transistors. It is shown in this paper that substantial reductions in short channel effects are possible in single-gate field-effect transistors with indium gallium zinc oxide semiconductor channels by modifying the design of the source and drain electrodes to possess an array of tapered tips which are designated as nanospike electrodes. 20-25 nm channel length FETs with nanospike electrodes have DIBL and other key metrics that are comparable to those in much larger (70-80 nm) channel length FETs with a conventional source/drain electrode design. These improvements stem from better gate control near the source and drain electrode tips due to the shape of these electrodes. These bottom gate FETs had a gate insulator consisting of 9 nm thick Al2O3 and independent Ni gates. This design approach is expected to be very helpful for a variety of semiconductor technologies being considered for back-end-of-line (BEOL) applications.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2024

Probing Charge Dynamics in Amorphous Oxide Semiconductors by Time-of-flight Microwave Impedance Microscopy

The unique electronic properties of amorphous indium gallium zinc oxide (a-IGZO) thin films are closely associated with the complex charge dynamics of the materials. Conventional studies of charge transport in a-IGZO usually involve steady-state or transient measurements on field-effect transistors. Here, we employed microwave impedance microscopy to carry out position-dependent time-of-flight (TOF) experiments on a-IGZO devices, which offer spatial and temporal information of the underlying transport dynamics. The drift mobility calculated from the delay time between carrier injection and onset of TOF response is 2 - 3 cm2/Vs, consistent with the field-effect mobility from device measurements. The spatiotemporal conductivity data can be nicely fitted to a two-step function, corresponding to two coexisting mechanisms with a typical timescale of milliseconds. The competition between multiple-trap-and-release conduction through band-tail states and hopping conduction through deep trap states is evident from the fitting parameters. The underlying length scale and time scale of charge dynamics in a-IGZO are of fundamental importance for transparent and flexible nanoelectronics and optoelectronics, as well as emerging back-end-of-line applications.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2023

Visualization of Mesoscopic Conductivity Fluctuations in Amorphous Semiconductor Thin-Film Transistors

Charge transport in amorphous semiconductors is considerably more complicated than process in crystalline materials due to abundant localized states. In addition to device-scale characterization, spatially resolved measurements are important to unveil electronic properties. Here, we report gigahertz conductivity mapping in amorphous indium gallium zinc oxide (a-IGZO) thin-film transistors by microwave impedance microscopy (MIM), which probes conductivity without Schottky barrier's influence. The difference between dc and microwave conductivities reflects the efficacy of the injection barrier in an accumulation-mode transistor. The conductivity exhibits significant nanoscale inhomogeneity in the subthreshold regime, presumably due to trapping and releasing from localized states. The characteristic length scale of local fluctuations, as determined by autocorrelation analysis, is about 200 nm. Using random-barrier model, we can simulate the spatial variation of potential landscape, which underlies the mesoscopic conductivity distribution. Our work provides an intuitive way to understand the charge transport mechanism in amorphous semiconductors at microscopic level.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2014

Toward Air-Stable Multilayer Phosphorene Thin-Films and Transistors

Few-layer black phosphorus (BP), also known as phosphorene, is poised to be the most attractive graphene analogue owing to its high mobility approaching that of graphene, and its thickness- tunable band gap that can be as large as that of molybdenum disulfide. In essence, phosphorene represents the much sought after high-mobility, large direct band gap two-dimensional layered crystal that is ideal for optoelectronics and flexible devices. However, its instability in air is of paramount concern for practical applications. Here, we demonstrate air-stable BP devices with dielectric and hydrophobic encapsulation. Microscopy, spectroscopy, and transport techniques were employed to elucidate the aging mechanism, which can initiate from the BP surface for bare samples, or edges for samples with thin dielectric coating highlighting the ineffectiveness of conventional scaled dielectrics. Our pioneering months-long studies indicate that a double layer of Al2O3 and hydrophobic fluoropolymer affords BP devices and transistors with indefinite air-stability for the first time, overcoming a critical material challenge for applied research and development.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2002

Measurements of Gated Conjugated Polymer with Electrode Spacing Down to Several Nanometers

In this letter we describe electronic measurements of a conjugated polymer of phenylenevinylene (PPV) with electrode spacings down to 20 nm; all measurements are made in a gated transistor geometry. With rectangular electrodes we find that the current is fit by an exponential in the applied electric field for spacings between 50 nm and 2um. Based on this finding we conclude that the current is not injection limited, and is concentrated in a very small region; we also discuss possible transport mechanisms. The calculated mobility appears exponential in the electric field rather than in the square root of field. We also show fabricated triangular electrodes with spacings down to 5 nm, and discuss measurements with spacings down to 20 nm in which a single chain of polymer may dominate the conductance.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗