Thin film transistor and method for manufacturing same

US9660103B2 · US · B2

Patent metadata
FieldValue
Publication numberUS-9660103-B2
Application numberUS-201414888213-A
CountryUS
Kind codeB2
Filing dateJun 24, 2014
Priority dateJun 28, 2013
Publication dateMay 23, 2017
Grant dateMay 23, 2017

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  1. Title

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  5. First independent claim

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Abstract

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This thin film transistor comprises, on a substrate, at least a gate electrode, a gate insulating film, an oxide semiconductor layer, a source-drain electrode, and two or more protective films. The oxide semiconductor layer comprises Sn, O and one or more elements selected from the group consisting of In, Ga and Zn. In addition, the two or more protective films are composed of at least a first protective film that is in contact with the oxide semiconductor film, and one or more second protective films other than the first protective film. The first protective film is a SiO x film having a hydrogen concentration of 3.5 atomic % or lower.

First claim

Opening claim text (preview).

The invention claimed is: 1. A thin film transistor comprising, in order; a gate electrode, a gate insulator film, an oxide semiconductor layer, a source-drain electrode, and a passivation film comprising more than one layer on a substrate, wherein the oxide semiconductor layer comprises O, Sn, In, Ga, and Zn wherein the amount of In, Ga, Zn, and Sn relative to the total amount of In, Ga, Zn, and Sn is: 15 atomic %≦In≦25 atomic %, 5 atomic %≦Ga≦20 atomic %, 40 atomic %≦Zn≦60 atomic %, and 9 atomic %≦Sn≦25 atomic %; the passivation film comprises a first protective film in contact to the oxide semiconductor layer and a second protective film comprising one or more layers other than the first protective film; the first protective film is a SiO x film; and the hydrogen concentration in the first protective film is 3.5 atomic % or lower. 2. The thin film transistor of claim 1 , wherein the second protective film is an insulating compound film or a laminate film comprising a resin film and the insulating compound film. 3. The thin film transistor of claim 2 , wherein the insulating compound film is an oxide, a nitride, or an oxynitride film comprising one or more elements selected from the group consisting of Si, Al, Ti, Ta, Ce, Ga, Hf, Nb, V, W, Y, and Zr. 4. The thin film transistor of claim 3 , wherein the insulating compound film comprises SiN x film and an oxide film comprising one or more elements selected from the group consisting of Si, Al, Ti, Ta, Ce, Nb, V, W, Y, and Zr. 5. The thin film transistor of claim 2 , wherein the thickness of the first protective film is larger than or equal to 30 nm. 6. The thin film transistor of claim 1 , wherein the amount of In relative to the total amount of In, Ga, Zn, and Sn is 16 atomic % to 23 atomic %. 7. The thin film transistor of claim 1 , wherein the amount of Ga relative to the total amount of In, Ga, Zn, and Sn is 10 atomic % to 19 atomic %. 8. The thin film transistor of claim 1 , wherein the amount of Zn relative to the total amount of in, Ga, Zn, and Sn is 43 atomic % to 60 atomic %. 9. The thin film transistor claim 1 , wherein the amount of Zn relative to the total amount of In, Ga, Zn, and Sn is 43 atomic % to 50 atomic %. 10. The thin film transistor of claim 1 , wherein the specific resistance of the oxide semiconductor layer is 2.1×10 2 Ω-cm or larger and 1.0×10 5 Ω-cm or smaller. 11. The thin film transistor of claim 1 , wherein the oxide semiconductor layer comprises Sn in an amount of 15 atomic % to 25 atomic % relative to the total amount of metal elements in the oxide semiconductor layer. 12. The thin film transistor of claim 1 , wherein the amount of In, Ga, Zn, and Sn relative to the total amount of In, Ga, Zn, and Sn is: 16 atomic %≦In≦23 atomic %, 10 atomic %≦Ga≦19 atomic %, 43 atomic %≦Zn≦60 atomic %, and 15 atomic %≦Sn≦25 atomic %. 13. The thin film transistor of claim 1 , wherein the thickness of the first protective film is larger than or equal to 30 nm. 14. The thin film transistor as set forth in claim 1 wherein the source-drain electrode comprises a pure Mo film, a Mo alloy film, or both. 15. The thin film transistor of claim 1 , wherein the source-drain electrode is a laminate film comprising; one or more films selected from a pure Mo film and a Mo alloy film, and are in direct contact to the oxide semiconductor layer; and one or more films selected from the group consisting of a pure Al film, a pure Cu film, an Al alloy film, and a Cu alloy film. 16. Method of manufacturing the thin film transistor of claim 1 comprising: forming the gate electrode on the substrate; forming the gate insulator film on the gate electrode; forming the oxide semiconductor layer on the gate insulator film wherein the oxide semiconductor layer comprises O, Sn, In, Ga and Zn, the amounts of In, Ga, Zn, and Sn relative to the total amount of In, Ga, Zn, and Sn are: 15 atomic %≦In ≦25 atomic %, 5 atomic %≦Ga ≦20 atomic %, 40 atomic %≦Zn≦60 atomic %, and 9 atomic %≦Sn≦25 atomic %; forming the source-drain electrode on the oxide semiconductor layer comprising carrying out patterning of the source-drain electrode with an acid-based etchant; and forming the passivation film on the source-drain electrode wherein the passivation film comprises the first protective film in contact to the oxide semiconductor layer and the second protective film comprising one or more layers other than the first protective film, the first protective film is the SiO x film and the hydrogen concentration in the first protective film is 3.5 atomic % or lower, wherein forming the passivation film comprises carrying out an oxidation treatment after forming the SiO x as the first protective film and forming the second protective film on the first protective film. 17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the oxidation treatment is a heat treatment conducted at a temperature of higher than or equal to 130° C. and lower than or equal to 400° C. 18. The method of claim 16 further comprising; carrying out a heat treatment after the forming of the second protective film. 19. The method of claim 17 , further comprising: carrying out a heat treatment after the forming of the second protective film.

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What does patent US9660103B2 cover?
This thin film transistor comprises, on a substrate, at least a gate electrode, a gate insulating film, an oxide semiconductor layer, a source-drain electrode, and two or more protective films. The oxide semiconductor layer comprises Sn, O and one or more elements selected from the group consisting of In, Ga and Zn. In addition, the two or more protective films are composed of at least a first …
Who is the assignee on this patent?
Kobe Steel Ltd, Kobe Steel Ltd
What technology area does this patent fall under?
Primary CPC classification H01L29/78693. Mapped technology areas include Electricity.
When was this patent published?
Publication date Tue May 23 2017 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) (B2). Legal status and post-grant events are not shown on this page.
What related patents are in patentsdb?
We list 8 related publications on this page (citations in our corpus or others sharing the same primary CPC).