Solution processed metal oxide microelectronics: from materials to devices

Owing to their many interesting characteristics, the application of metal oxide based electronics has been growing at a considerable rate for the past ten years. High performance, optical transparency, chemical stability and suitability toward low cost deposition methods make them well suited to a number of new and interesting application areas which conventional materials such as silicon, or more recently organic materials, are unable to satisfy.The work presented in this thesis is focussed on the optimisation of high performance metal oxide based electronics combined with use of spray pyrolysis, as a low cost deposition method. The findings presented here are split into three main areas, starting with an initial discussion on the physical and electronic properties of films deposited by spray pyrolysis. The results demonstrate a number of deposition criteria that aid in the optimisation and fabrication of high performance zinc oxide (ZnO) based thin-film transistors (TFTs) with charge carrier mobilities as high a 20 cm2/Vs. Solution processed gallium oxide TFTs with charge carrier mobilities of ~0.5 cm2/Vs are also demonstrated, highlighting the flexibility of the deposition method. The second part of the work explores the use of facile chemical doping methods suitable for spray pyrolysed ZnO based TFTs. By blending different precursor materials in solution prior to deposition, it has been possible to adjust certain material characteristics, and in turn device performance. Through the addition of lithium it has been possible alter the films grain structure, leading to significantly improved charge carrier mobilities as high as ~54 cm2/Vs. Additionally the inclusion of beryllium during film deposition has been demonstrated to control TFT threshold voltages, leading to improved integrated circuit performance. The final segment of work demonstrates the flexibility of spray pyrolysis through the deposition of a number of high-k dielectric materials. These high performance dielectrics are integrated into the fabrication of TFTs already benefiting from the findings of the previously discussed work, leading to highly optimised low-voltage TFTs. The performance of these devices represent some of best currently available from solution processed ZnO TFTs with charge carrier mobilities as high as 85 cm2/Vs operating at 3.5 V.Open Acces

플라즈마 화학 기상 증착법을 이용한 베리어 필름 합성과 디스플레이 응용

학위논문 (박사)-- 서울대학교 대학원 : 자연과학대학 화학부, 2019. 2. 홍병희.자발광형 디스플레이이며, 저전압 구동이 가능하고 얇은 두께로 제작이 가능하며 동작속도가 매우 빠를 뿐만 아니라 높은 해상도 구현이 가능한 OLED는 디스플레이에서 빠른 성장세를 보이고 있다. 최근 OLED의 가장 큰 관심 분야는 모바일용 디스플레이와 대면적 TV, 그리고 플렉시블 및 투명 디스플레이 구현이다. 디스플레이를 구동하기 위한 구동소자는 수동형(passive matrix)과 능동형(active matrix, AM)로 나뉘며, 수동형에 비하여 고화질, 낮은 소비 전력, 대형화에 유리한 능동형 디스플레이가 선호된다. 표시소자를 능동 구동하기 위해서는 각 화소마다 박막 트랜지스터(thin-film transistor, TFT)와 같은 스위칭 소자를 부착시켜야 한다. 능동형 구동소자의 경우 현재의 TFT-LCD나 AMOLED용 백플레인에 주로 사용되는 비정질 실리콘(a-Si), 저온 다결정 실리콘 (LTPS) 기술이 우선 개발되어 응용되고 있다. 최근에는 큰 밴드 갭을 가지는 비정질 산화물 반도체를 이용해 투명하면서 빠른 응답속도의 디스플레이 구동소자에 대한 연구가 활발히 진행되고 있다. 또한 배선의 RC Delay를 최소화 시켜야 하고, 파워소비량을 줄여야 하는 기술적인 문제가 있다. 디스플레이의 고해상도인 UHD (Ultra High Definition)의 backplane에서 고속 TFT 구현을 위하여 SD(Source-Drain) 메탈 배선 구현은 필수적인 요소이다. 본 연구에서는 SD 메탈 배선으로써 저저항 배선인 Copper 배선의 diffusion barrier 역할을 하는 Graphite 성장을 다루고 있다. 기존의 Graphene 합성은 기계적 및 화학적 박리 방법에는 대면적 패널 구현으로써 한계가 있다. 현재까지 대형 Size scale Graphene 시도는 전극으로써 Graphene 활용은 있지만, 이 구현은 Thermal CVD (900~1000℃)에서 Graphene 을 합성하고, Glass에 transfer 한 논문으로써 실제 대면적으로 만드는 공정 적용에는 한계가 있다. 이에 현재 많이 연구는 진행 중이고 있지만, PECVD (Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition)를 이용한 graphite 박막 합성은 대형 size, mass production을 가능하게 하며, 아직 mass production 적용을 위해 연구해야 할 점은 많지만, 저온 공정 Graphite 합성이 가능하다면, large scale device 구현에 한층 더 진보된 기술이 될 것임을 확신한다. 본 연구에서 Copper diffusion barrier 으로써의 역할을 검증하고, 증착 온도를 저온으로 합성함으로써 TEM 및 EDAX 분석으로 Graphite barrier 및 mass production의 가능성을 검증하였다. 본 연구의 직접적인 PECVD 합성 방법을 통해 대면적이 가능함을 제시함으로써 기존의 대면적 합성 문제점을 해결해 줄 수 있는 방안이 될 것이다. 또한 디스플레이의 TFT 특성도 기존의 Active material 인 a-Si TFT보다 훨씬 더 높은 고이동도 소자를 요구하며, 특히 투명 디스플레이의 적용 가능하며, 고이동도 특성을 균일하게 가질 수 있는 신규 TFT를 요구하게 되었다. 이에 대한 방안으로 산화물 TFT로써 ZnO (Zinc Oxide), IZO (Indium Zinc Oxide), a-IGZO (Amorphous Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide) 등의 재료가 연구되고 있다. 기존의 a-Si의 이동도 (<1cm2/V·S) 보다 높은 이동도를 가진 IGZO 재료는 투명한 소자로써 투명디스플레이에서도 활용이 가능하여, 응용성을 확대하고 있다. 본 연구에서는 투명디스플레이 에서도 활용이 가능하도록 a-IGZO를 substrate로 하는 Graphite 박막을 합성 방법을 제시하고, 대면적 구현으로써 그 응용성을 기대하고 있다. Graphite의 저온 합성 기술 개발은 기존 라인의 CVD 장비 교체 없이 단지 Graphene Gas 사용만으로 공정을 구현한다는 점이 cost 및 공정 단순화의 관점에서 많은 장점이 있다. 또한 고속 구동을 위하여 SD 배선으로 metal뿐 아니라 산화물 반도체로도 Graphite 합성의 catalyst로써 사용되어, 패널 구현을 가능하게 해준다는 관점에서 의미가 있다. 또한 Graphite 합성 기술을 thin film 박막을 만들어 다른 application 에서도 활용 가능함을 보여줌으로써 파급 효과가 크다고 판단된다. 다음 연구에서는 LCD 디스플레이에서 Backlight 사용이 필수적이다. Back light는 가시광선 영역 뿐 아니라 UV 파장영역도 포함하고 있으며, Active 재료인 a-IGZO 소자에서 TFT 특성의 불안정성의 문제를 가지고 있다. IGZO의 특성상 UV 파장대에서의 빛과의 반응으로 TFT 소자의 신뢰성 특성이 악화되는 문제점을 해결하고자 Barrier 박막을 사용이 필수적인 요소이다. 본 연구에서는 TFT의 신뢰성 및 안정성을 유지하기 위해서 Photo blocking barrier로써 SiGe (Silicon Germanium) 박막 재료 합성을 통하여 TFT 신뢰성의 특성 변화 없는 것을 연구하였다. 이전 SiGe 연구되어진 바로는 태양전지에서 P-I(intrinsic layer)-N형 구조에서 중간 삽입층에서 불순물이 첨가되지 않은 무첨가층 (Intrinsic layer)에서 SiGe 이 광흡수층으로 사용되어진 연구가 있었다. 본 연구에서는 TFT 소자에서 a-IGZO 가 광반응으로 인해 산소 결핍 (Oxygen Vacancy)을 막아 TFT 특성의 저하 효과를 막고자 SiGe의 광 차단 박막 형성을 통해 광반응으로 인한a-IGZO특성 변화가 되지 않도록 하였다. 또한 박막 형성 및 적층 구조에서 SiGe 와 IGZO의 박막 사이에 Capacitance 형성으로 전자의 charge가 IGZO 박막 계면에 누적되어, 트랜지스터 특성이 단락(short) 현상이 발생 하였으며, 이를 방지하기 위해 Buffer layer 의 두께 조절이 중요하였다. 이에 Buffer layer의 두께 최적화를 통해 하부에서 들어오는 빛에도 차단을 할 수 있는 Barrier 적층 구조를 만들어 TFT 소자의 신뢰성 개선됨을 보여주고자 하였다. 스마트 Window 및 냉장고에서 문을 열지 않고 내용물을 확인할 수 있는 투명 디스플레이 및 플렉시블 디스플레이 구현을 위해 여러 요소의 기술 연구가 진행되고 있으며, 이 구현을 위해 본 연구의 Barrier 박막 구현은 필수적인 요소로 응용성이 확대되어 활용됨을 기대해 본다.OLED is a self-emissive display can be driven at low voltage and manufactured in a thin layer. In addition, this display operates at a very high speed and emit a color that can be rapidly implemented. Recently, OLEDs main interest is mobile screen, large screen TV, flexible and transparent display. The driving device for display is classified to the passive matrix and active matrix. Active matrix is preferred because of higher resolution, lower energy consumption, and large size screen. To apply active matrix on display device, a switching device such as thin-film transistor (TFT) is attached to each pixel. For active driving devices, amorphous silicon (a-Si) and low-temperature polycrystalline silicon (LTPS) technologies are applied in current TFT –LCD or AMOLED back frame. Recently, there is an ongoing research on using amorphous oxide semiconductors with large bandgaps to research transparent and fast responsive display driving devices. Moreover, RC delay has a technical problem that must be minimized and reduce power consumption. Implementation of Source Drain (SD) is a metal wiring essential element for high-speed TFT execution in high-resolution UHD (Ultra High Definition) displays backplane. In this study, the graphite growth plays the role of diffusion barrier of copper wiring that has low resistance wiring with SD metal wiring. The chemical and mechanical stripping methods of conventional graphene synthesis application on large area panels is limited. Up to now, the large size graphene has been used as an electrode, but this implementation is limited to making the large-scale process by synthesizing graphene at thermal CVD (900~1000°C) and transferring it to the glass. Despite the fact, a lot of ongoing studies, graphites thin film synthesis using Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD) enables large size and mass production. Furthermore, this area still requires more research on mass production. If low-temperature process for graphite synthesis is possible, this will become a more advanced technology for device implementation. In this study, the role of copper diffusion barrier was verified, and the possibility of graphite barrier and mass production was verified by TEM and EDAX analysis by synthesizing the deposition temperature at low temperature. In addition, this study suggests the large size display can be obtained through direct PECVD synthesis that will solve the existing problems of large size synthesis. The displays TFT characteristics also require a high mobility device that is much higher than the conventional active material a-Si TFT. In particular, a new TFT capable of applying a transparent display and uniformly having high mobility characteristics is required. Materials such as ZnO (Zinc Oxide), IZO (Indium Zinc Oxide) and IGZO (Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide) have been studied as oxide TFTs. IGZO materials with higher mobility than conventional a-Si mobility (<1 cm2 / V · s) are transparent devices and can be used in transparent displays, thus extending applicability. In this study, we propose a graphite synthesis based on IGZO to be applicable to transparent display and expect the application on large size displays. The low-temperature Graphite synthesis has many advantages in terms of cost and process simplification because it implements the process only by using Graphene gas without replacing existing CVD equipment. In addition, it can be used as a graphite synthesis catalyst not only for metal but also for the oxide semiconductor, to raise activation. Moreover, the graphite synthesis to make a thin film can be applied to other fields. In the next study, it is essential to use backlight in LCD display. The backlight not only includes the visible light but also the UV region, and has instability of TFT characteristics in the active material IGZO device. Due to IGZOs reaction to light in UV region, it is essential to use a barrier film in order to solve the reliability characteristics of the TFT device deterioration. To maintain the reliability and stability of the TFT, this study on reliability of the TFT was not changed by SiGe (Silicon Germanium) synthesis thin film as a photo blocking barrier. Based on previous research on SiGe has been used as the light absorbing layer in the intrinsic layer in which a P-I (intrinsic layer)-N type structure in a solar cell that is not doped with an impurity in an intermediate insertion layer. In this study, in order to prevent oxygen vacancy during a-IGZO photoreaction on TFT device, the formation of a light-shielding film of Si-Ge prevents oxygen deficiency. Capacitance formation between SiGe and IGZO thin film in the thin film formation and lamination structure accumulates electrons charge on the IGZO thin film interface. The characteristics of the transistor were short, and to prevent this shortness, it is important to control the thickness of the buffer layer. Therefore, this shows that the reliability of the TFT device is improved by making the barrier laminate structure that can block the light from the bottom through the optimization of the thickness of the buffer layer. There are various ongoing technological studies on transparent and flexible displays that to observe the contents without opening the door through the smart window and refrigerator. For this application, the thin film barrier is an essential element and expect to be implemented.Table of Contents Abstract.........................................................................1 Contents........................................................................6 List of Figures.................................................................9 List of Tables................................................................15 Chapter 1. Introduction................................................16 1.1. Graphene characteristics 1.2. Amorphous Si:H and LTPS TFT backplane technology in display 1.3. High performance amorphous In-Ga-Zn-O TFTs 1.4. Overview of PECVD system 1.5. References Chapter 2. Growth of thin graphite films for solid diffusion barriers .......................................................60 2.1. Large-scale transfer-free growth of thin graphite films at low temperature for solid diffusion barriers 2.1.1. Introduction 2.1.2. Experimental 2.1.3. Results and discussion 2.1.4. Conclusion 2.1.5. References Chapter 3. Growth of silicon germanium films for photo-blocking layers in industrial display.................99 3.1. Silicon germanium photo-blocking layers for a-IGZO based industrial display 3.1.1. Introduction 3.1.2. Experimental 3.1.3. Results and Discussion 3.1.4. Conclusion 3.1.5. References Abstract in Korean………………………………………130 Appendix……………………………………………………135Docto

Highly transparent and reproducible nanocrystalline ZnO and AZO thin films grown by room temperature pulsed-laser deposition on flexible zeonor plastic substrates

Zeonor plastics are highly versatile due to exceptional optical and mechanical properties which make them the choice material in many novel applications. For potential use in flexible transparent optoelectronic applications, we have investigated Zeonor plastics as flexible substrates for the deposition of highly transparent ZnO and AZO thin films. Films were prepared by pulsed laser deposition at room temperature in oxygen ambient pressures of 75, 150 and 300 mTorr. The growth rate, surface morphology, hydrophobicity and the structural, optical and electrical properties of as grown films with thicknesses∼65–420 nm were recorded for the three oxygen pressures. The growth rates were found to be highly linear both as a function of film thickness and oxygen pressure, indicating high reproducibility. All the films were optically smooth, hydrophobic and nanostructured with lateral grain shapes of∼150 nm wide. This was found compatible with the deposition of condensed nanoclusters, formed in the ablation plume, on a cold and amorphous substrate. Films were nanocrystalline (wurtzite structure), c-axis oriented, with average crystallite size∼22 nm for ZnO and∼16 nm for AZO. In-plane compressive stress values of 2–3 GPa for ZnO films and 0.5 GPa forAZO films were found. Films also displayed high transmission greater than 95% in some cases, in the 400–800 nmwavelength range. The low temperature photoluminescence spectra of all the ZnO and AZO films showed intense near band edge emission. A considerable spread from semi-insulating to n-type conductive was observed for the films, with resistivity∼103 Ω cm and Hall mobility in 4–14 cm2 V−1 s−1 range, showing marked dependences on film thickness and oxygen pressure. Applications in the fields of microfluidic devices and flexible electronics for these ZnO and AZO films are suggested

On improvements in metal oxide based flexible transistors through systematic evaluation of material properties

Thin-film metal oxide (MOx) semiconductors have opened the way to a new generation of electronics based on their unique properties. With mobilities, mu, of up to 80 cm2V-1s-1, metal oxides do not rival crystalline silicon (mu~1000 cm2V-1s-1) for complex applications. But such oxides do have three unique characteristics driving great interest: their mobilities persist in the amorphous form, contrary to the thousandfold drop seen in silicon; they are transparent; and they can be processed at, or near, room temperature. Most work on MOx semiconductors, in particular indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO), has focused on display applications, where MOx thin-film transistors (TFTs) are used to drive individual pixels, reducing power consumption by blocking less light than alternatives, and allowing smaller pixels due to reduced TFT sizes. Such work has seen great advances in IGZO, but has generally not considered the thermal budget during production. By utilising the low temperature processing possible with MOx, a new world of applications becomes possible: flexible electronics. This work aims to improve the characteristics of TFTs based on amorphous IGZO (a-IGZO) through detailed study of the thin-film structure in relation to functional performance, looking at the material structure of three critical layers in an a-IGZO TFT. A study of optimisation of a dielectric layer of Al2O3, deposited by atomic layer deposition (ALD), is presented. This dielectric, between the a-IGZO and the gate electrode, shows a three-layer substructure in what has previously been regarded as a single homogeneous layer. A study of the insulating Al2O3 buffer layer below the a-IGZO compared the properties of Al2O3 deposited by ALD and sputtering. Sputtered material has a more complex structure than ALD, consisting of multiple sublayers that correlate with the sputtering process. The structure of the two materials is discussed, and the impact on device performance considered. A detailed systematic study of the effects of annealing of a-IGZO shows a strong dependence of the density on both time and temperature. A two mechanism model is proposed which consists of structural relaxation of the amorphous material followed by absorption of oxygen from the environment. Finally, investigation of the influence of the buffer material on the a-IGZO, and the structure of this interface showed little difference in the growth of the a-IGZO, but did reveal some changes in the interface, while a systematic study of annealing effects on the a-IGZO-dielectric interface showed some interesting changes in this structure, both of which are likely to significantly impact the operational characteristics of TFT devices

EFFECT OF THE DISTRIBUTION OF STATES IN AMORPHOUS IN-GA-ZN-O LAYERS ON THE CONDUCTION MECHANISM OF THIN FILM TRANSISTORS ON ITS BASE

Amorphous In-Ga-Zn-O Thin Film Transistors (a-IGZO TFTs) have proven to be an excellent approach for flat panel display drivers using organic light emitting diodes, due to their high mobility and stability compared to other types of TFTs. These characteristics are related to the specifics of the metal-oxygen-metal bonds, which give raise to spatially distributed s orbitals that can overlap between them. The magnitude of the overlap between s orbitals seems to be little sensitive to the presence of the distorted bonds, allowing high values of mobility, even in devices fabricated at room temperature. In this paper, we show the effect of the distribution of states in the a-IGZO layer on the main conduction mechanism of the a-IGZO TFTs, analyzing the behavior with temperature of the drain current.

Solution-processed metal oxide dielectrics and semiconductors for thin film transistor applications

Transparent thin film transistors (TFTs) have been the subject of extensive scientific research over the last couple of decades, for applications in displays and imaging, as their implementation in active-matrix liquid crystal displays backplanes is expected to improve their performance in terms of switching times and stability. To this end, several material systems have emerged as contenders to address this need for a high performance, low power, large-area electronics i.e. thin film silicon, organic semiconductors and metal oxides. The electronic limitations of thin film silicon are well documented, and although organic semiconductors have seen significant improvements in recent years, their persistent low mobility and instability means that they are unlikely to progress beyond niche applications. This thesis is focused on the investigation of the physical properties of metal oxides and their implementation in TFTs. Metal oxide based TFTs were fabricated by spray pyrolysis, a simple and large-area-compatible deposition technique. More precisely, the implementation of titanium-aluminate and niobium-aluminate both wide band gap and high-k gate dielectric metal oxides in solution processed ZnO-based TFTs was studied and high performance, low operational voltage devices were fabricated. ZnO-based TFTs employing stoichiometric Al2O3-TiO2 (k~13, Eg~4.5 eV) or Nb2O5-Al2O3 (k~13.5, Eg~5.1 eV) as gate dielectric exhibited low leakage currents, high on-off current modulation ratios, high field-effect mobilities and low subthreshold voltage swings. Furthermore, the implementation of solution-processed crystalline indium-zinc oxide (c-IZO) as active channel material in TFTs was equally investigated and high-performance c-IZO-based TFTs employing Al2O3 were fabricated. The effects of metal cation doping in c-IZO matrix were investigated in particular, and c-IZO:X (X:Ga,Y,Zr,Nb) based TFTs were fabricated and their properties were assessed for each dopant. Amongst them, Yttrium doped c-IZO (c-YIZO)-based TFTs exhibited the best performance in terms of low off-state currents, high field-effect mobilities and low subthreshold voltage swings

Transparent rectifying contacts on wide-band gap oxide semiconductors

Die vorliegenden Arbeit befasst sich mit der Herstellung und Charakterisierung von transparenten Metall-Halbleiter- Feldeffekttransistoren. Dazu werden im ersten Kapitel transparente gleichrichtende Kontakte, basierend auf dem Konzept von Metalloxidkontakten, hergestellt und im Hinblick auf chemische Zusammensetzung des Kontaktmaterials, Barriereninhomogenität und Kompatibilität mit amorphen Halbleitern untersucht. Außerdem wird die Anwendbarkeit der Kontakte als UV-Sensor studiert. Im zweiten Kapitel werden transparente leitfähige Oxide vorgestellt und insbesondere deren optische und elektrische Eigenschaften in Abhängigkeit von den Herstellungsbedingungen studiert. Das dritte Kapitel beinhaltet Untersuchungen zu transparenten Feldeffektransistoren, die auf den im ersten Kapitel untersuchten transparenten gleichrichtenden Kontakten basieren (TMESFETs). Insbesondere die elektrischen Stabilität der Bauelemente hinsichtlich Beleuchtung, erhöhten Temperaturen und Spannungsstress wird untersucht. Auch die Langzeitstabilität, Reproduzierbarkeit und der Effekt gepulster Spannungen wird betrachtet. Weiterhin wird die Verwendung amorpher Halbleiter im Kanal und damit auch die Herstellung flexibler Transistoren auf Folie demonstriert. Zuletzt werden die TMESFETs integriert und als Inverterschaltkreise aufgebaut und untersucht. Außerdem wird die Eignung der Transistoren zur Messung von Aktionspotentialen von Nervenzellen studiert

Toxic gas sensors using thin film transistor platform at low temperature

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering, 2009.Includes bibliographical references (leaves [71-73]).Semiconducting metal-oxides such as SnO₂, TiO₂, ZnO and WO₃ are commonly used for gas sensing in the form of thin film resistors (TFRs) given their high sensitivity to many vapor species, simple construction and capability for miniaturization. Furthermore, they are generally more stable than polymer-based gas sensors. However, unlike polymers, metal oxide gas sensors must typically be operated between 200-400°C to insure rapid kinetics. Another problem impacting TFR performance and reproducibility is related to poorly understood substrate-semiconductor film interactions. Space charges at this heterojunction are believed to influence chemisorption on the semiconductor-gas interface, but unfortunately, in an unpredictable manner. In this study, the feasibility of employing illumination and the thin film transistor (TFT) platform as a means of reducing operation temperature was investigated on ZnO based TFTs for gas sensors applications. Response to NO₂ is observed at significantly reduced temperature. Photoconductivity measurements, performed as a function of temperature on ZnO based TFRs, indicate that this results in a photon-induced desorption process. Also, transient changes in TFT channel conductance and transistor threshold voltage are obtained with application of gate bias, suggesting that TFTs offer additional control over chemisorption at the semiconductor-gas interface.by Yoonsil Jin.S.M

Material deposition and laser annealing of metal oxide thin films for electronics fabricated at low temperature

With an aim to investigate methods to realise low thermal-budget fabrication of aluminium doped zinc oxide (AZO) and indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO) thin films, a dual step fabrication process was studied in this research. Initially, an experimental programme was undertaken to deposit AZO and IGZO films by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering with no external substrate heating and at a wide range of deposition parameters including oxygen to argon ratio, RF power, and sputtering pressure. Thereafter, the samples were subjected to post-depositing annealing in air at ambient temperature utilising the advantages of excimer laser annealing (ELA) with a pulsed krypton fluoride (KrF) excimer laser at different laser fluences and number of pulses. The electrical, structural, compositional, and optical properties of the fabricated samples were systematically investigated as a function of the fabrication (deposition and annealing) conditions. A range of thin film characterisation techniques was used including 4-point probe (4PP), Van der Pauw (VDP), Hall Effect, X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Atomic-force microscopy (AFM), Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and optical transmittance and reflectance spectroscopy. Sputter-deposition of AZO and IGZO at room temperature revealed that the electrical properties of the deposited films are profoundly controlled by the deposition conditions applied. Low sputtering pressure of 2 mTorr is desired to obtain the best quality materials. However, high RF power of 180 W (4 W/cm2) is required to produce AZO with enhanced crystallinity, high electron density, and thus low resistivity. While, moderate RF power of 50 W (1.1 W/cm2) is applied to produce amorphous IGZO films with moderate-to-high resistivity suitable for thin film transistors (TFTs). The oxygen to argon ratio is found to have the most significant impact on defining the electrical properties for both AZO and IGZO. The resistivity of IGZO films was dependant on their metallic composition which in turn is controlled by the deposition conditions. TFTs were fabricated on silicon substrates with 40 nm thick IGZO as the active layer deposited at room temperature and different growth conditions. TFT performance was largely affected by the active layer deposition conditions. TFTs with the optimised IGZO, deposited at 50 W and 2 mTorr of 2% oxygen to argon ratio, exhibited a field effect mobility of 0.67 cm2/Vs, an on/off current ratio of 5x105, a turn on voltage of -0.15 V, and a subthreshold swing S of 0.28 V/decade. Upon ELA, AZO showed a resistivity reduction which is shown to result from increasing both the free electron density and mobility. When the optimised as-deposited AZO, 180 nm thick deposited at 180 W and 2 mTorr of 0.2% oxygen to argon ratio, annealed with 5 pulses at 125 mJ/cm2, a 50% resistivity reduction to 5x10-4 Ω.cm was obtained. It was demonstrated that average grain size increase, oxygen related defects decrease, and aluminium activation in doped ZnO are the origin of the AZO resistivity reduction upon ELA. Rapid thermal annealing (RTA) was also examined on AZO; RTA in nitrogen at 300°C for 20s increased the AZO gain size and doping efficiency leading to similar resistivity reduction to that achieved by the optimised ELA. Both ELA and RTA enhanced the AZO visible transmission to > 85 %, while the near infrared transmission was degraded due to higher electron density after annealing. The electro-optical properties of the optimised AZO samples obtained by ELA and RTA, which are very close to those of standard tin doped indium oxide (ITO), demonstrate the viability of AZO as an attractive transparent conducting material for various electronic applications. The potential use of AZO for photovoltaics (PVs) as well as the AZO stability against damp heat exposure were also examined. PVs with optimised ELA and RTA treated AZO samples showed comparable power conversion efficiency (PCE) to that of PVs with high-quality commercial ITO. The damp heat stability of AZO samples was strongly dependant on the fabrication conditions. In regard to IGZO, ELA increased the free electron density and mobility leading to better conductivity, while the amorphous structure is maintained. ELA with single pulse at a low energy density of 30 mJ/cm2 resulted in an improved performance for IGZO TFTs on silicon substrates achieving a field effect mobility of 3.33 cm2/Vs, an on/off current ratio of 3x107, a turn on voltage of +0.35 V, and a subthreshold swing S of 0.27 V/decade. Moreover, ELA was successfully applied to IGZO TFTs on polymer flexible PEN leading to TFTs with enhanced performance. Hence, a combination of RF magnetron sputtering at room temperature and ELA, which are both efficiently applicable to thin films mass production, has been demonstrated to provide a low thermal budget fabrication route for functional materials including AZO, as the most promising substitute to ITO in a wide range of applications, and IGZO as the most attractive material for TFT applications. This combination is an alternative thin film fabrication route to using elevated substrate temperature or post-deposition thermal annealing typically applied in the dominant literature reports, to obtain thin films with suitable characteristics