Band Tail State Broadening in IGZO TFTs After pBTI-Induced Negative <i>V</i>_T Shift Revealed via DC and 1/f Noise Measurements

Abstract

We investigate the origin of negative threshold voltage shifts in back-gated amorphous IGZO TFTs under positive bias and high temperature stress. Combined DC and 1/f noise measurements reveal that the stress does not generate new dielectric traps but instead broadens the IGZO conduction band tail states. A recovery experiment confirms that the associated threshold voltage, subthreshold swing, and noise degradation are reversible. Simulations using an in-house Poisson solver confirm the experimental observations that high-temperature stress increases hydrogen doping and the density of sub-gap states.