Study on hydrogenation of polysilicon thin film transistors by ion implantation

Hydrogenation of polysilicon (poly-Si) thin film transistors (TFT´s) by ion implantation has been systematically studied. Poly-Si TFT performance was dramatically improved by hydrogen ion implantation followed by a forming gas anneal (FGA). The threshold voltage, channel mobility, subthreshold swing, leakage current, and ON/OFF current ratio have been studied as functions of ion implantation dose and FGA temperature. Under the optimized conditions (H⁺ dose of 5×10¹⁵ cm^-2 and FGA temperature at 375°C), NMOS poly-Si TFT´s fabricated by a low temperature 600°C process have a mobility of ~27 cm ²/V·s, a threshold voltage of ~2 V, a subthreshold swing of ~0.9 V/decade, and an OFF-state leakage current of ~7 pA/μm at V_DS=10 V. The avalanche induced kink effect was found to be reduced after hydrogenation