UCLA team deliver quicker, cheaper indium TFTs

A new range of thin-film transistors (TFTs) could improve OLED screen performance by 20 times according to their developers.

Indium TFTs
The TFTs have been produced by a research team located at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). The new semiconductors have been manufactured out of indium gallium zinc oxide and indium tin zinc oxide as an alternative to traditional amorphous silicon components.

The UCLA's TFT displays improved electron mobility by confining the structure of electron pathways. This can be translated into a quicker, more responsive control of pixels if they were fitted to the back of an OLED or LCD display.
The work has been reported in the journal Advanced Materials on 17 April.

Cheaper manufacturing
The potential of indium based semiconductors has been known for some time however production requires vacuum processing, which combined with rising prices for the metal make them prohibitively expensive. During the project the UCLA researchers have developed a simpler two-stage

application

and heating process.

You Seung Rim of the UCLA's Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science says: 'The improved mobility represents a breakthrough for solution-processed metal oxide TFTs. Our device's performance is comparable to that of commercial TFTs, but it can be produced at a much lower cost.'