Editors’ Choice—Thin Film Transistor Response in the THz Range

Abstract

Novel metal oxide materials such as InGaZnO (IGZO), ZnO, SnO, and In2O3 and improved fabrication processes dramatically enhanced the achieved and projected thin film transistor (TFT) performance. The record values of the effective field-effect mobility of Metal Oxide TFT (MOTFT) materials have approached 150 cm2/Vs. We report on an improved compact TFT model based on three models: the RPI TFT model, the unified charge control model (UCCM), and the multi-segment TFT compact model. This improved model accounts for a non-exponential slope in the subthreshold regime by introducing a varying subthreshold slope and accounts for non-trivial capacitance dependence on the gate bias, and parasitic impedances. The analysis of the TFT response using this model and the analytical calculations showed that TFTs could have a significant response to impinging THz and sub-THz radiation. Using a complementary inverter and the phase-matched THz signal feeding significantly improves the detection sensitivity.