Improved Performance of Transparent MoS₂ Thin-Film Transistor with IZO Electrodes by Air Thermal Annealing

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) grown via metal-organic chemical vapor deposition is known to exhibit high transparency and superior quality. Transparent thin-film transistor (TFT) based on a multilayer MoS₂ film and indium zinc oxide (IZO) using a representative transparent conducting oxide as source and drain electrodes indicate more than 70% transmittance in the visible wavelength. However, the device performance is limited by the large Schottky barrier height corresponding to the high work function of IZO (~ 5.1 eV) and surface impurities generated during the wet transfer process and subsequent oxidation. In this study, we addressed this problem by employing air thermal annealing to improve the TFT device performance. Consequently, contact resistance is reduced ~ 10 times, and the field-effect mobility and on/off ratio measured using ion-gel side gate, which are important parameters for TFT device operation, were enhanced by ~ 59 and ~ 81 times, respectively. Graphical abstract: (Figure presented.)