Oxide Semiconductor Material Composition for Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Oxide-based semiconductor materials face challenges with uniformity and stability, which affect their performance and applications, despite offering high performance and low cost compared to other semiconductors.
Innovation Solution
The use of semiconductor materials comprising specific atomic percentages of carrier mobility contributors like lead, indium, and cadmium, combined with amorphous phase stabilizers such as indium, tin, and zinc, and semiconductivity controllers with negative standard electrode potentials, along with oxygen, to enhance stability and tunable properties.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If oxide-based semiconductor materials are used, then cost is reduced and performance is improved, but uniformity and stability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by precisely controlling the atomic percentages of multiple elements in the oxide-based semiconductor material. Specifically, it adjusts the carrier mobility contributor (11-50 at%), amorphous phase stabilizer (0.6-25 at%), and semiconductivity controller (0.3-18 at%) within defined ranges to optimize both performance and stability simultaneously
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite materials by creating a multi-element oxide-based semiconductor system that combines carrier mobility contributors (Period 5 or 6 metals), amorphous phase stabilizers, and semiconductivity controllers. This composite approach allows the material to achieve high performance while maintaining uniformity and stability through synergistic interactions between different elements
2Stability of the object's composition
If specific element compositions are added to enhance stability, then uniformity improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent manages complexity by establishing specific atomic percentage ranges for each element type rather than using fixed compositions. This allows flexibility in manufacturing while ensuring uniformity: carrier mobility contributor (11-50 at%), amorphous phase stabilizer (0.6-25 at%), and semiconductivity controller (0.3-18 at%)
Solution Approach 2:
The patent reduces complexity through multi-functionality by selecting elements that serve multiple purposes. For example, Period 5 and 6 metals provide both carrier mobility enhancement and contribute to the overall structural stability, while the amorphous phase stabilizer simultaneously prevents crystallization and maintains compositional uniformity
Data Source
AI summary
Semiconductor materials can include from about 11 at % to about 50 at % of a carrier mobility contributor selected from a period 6 metal or a period 5 metal, wherein the period 6 metal is lead and the period 5 metal is indium, tin, cadmium, or a combination thereof, and wherein the carrier mobility contributor is not a combination of the period 6 metal and the period 5 metal; from about 0.6 at % to about 25 at % of an amorphous phase stabilizer, wherein the amorphous phase stabilizer is selected from indium, tin, cadmium, zinc, gallium, or a combination thereof when the carrier mobility contributor is the period 6 metal, or the amorphous phase stabilizer is selected from zinc, gallium, or a combination thereof when the carrier mobility contributor is the period 5 metal; from about 0.3 at % to about 18 at % of a semiconductivity controller including an element having a standard electrode potential from about −0.8 to about −3.05; and from about 45 at % to about 67 at % oxygen.