Effects of hydrogen plasma treatment on the physical and chemical properties of tin oxide thin films for ambipolar thin-film transistor applications

In this study, we investigated the physical and chemical properties of H2 plasma-treated tin oxide (SnOX) thin films, followed by their applications in ambipolar thin-film transistors (TFTs). Finely controlled implantation was carried out using a reactive-ion-etching system at radio frequency power 30 W under various exposure times. plasma treatments induced changes structures surface morphologies SnOX including partial phase transformation Sn SnO to SnO2. The defects originating from oxygen vacancies (OVacs) films were passivated H via formation Sn–H bonds, which decreased density subgap states films. TFTs showed considerably improved ambipolarity electrical performance. Complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) logic inverters comprising H2-plasma-treated exhibited maximum gain 34.5 V/V supply voltage 10 V. results study present meaningful investigation that can be used fabricate CMOS circuits for applications.