Hydrogen behavior and microstructural evolution in flexible IGZO thin films under stress

Bin Liu, Zhen Shen, Xuyang Li, Dan Kuang, Xianwen Liu, Shuo Zhang, Congyang Wen, Xiaorui Zi, Xi Zhang, Haoran Sun, Guangcai Yuan, Jian Guo, Ce Ning, Dawei Shi, Anyuan Qiu, Feng Wang*, Zhinong Yu*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

In this study, we investigated the effect of mechanical stress on hydrogen diffusion in flexible amorphous InGaZnO (a-IGZO) thin films and the resulting microstructural changes. The cyclic bending test under different curvature radii (R) revealed significant morphological evolution and bond state changes in IGZO thin films. As the curvature radius decreases from 20 mm to 5 mm, the surface of the sample gradually becomes rough and cracks appear. Simultaneously, changes in nanoscale topological structure and chemical composition exhibit stronger hydrogen diffusion and structural relaxation: The oxygen-hydrogen (O-H) bond content increased from 19 % to 55 %, while the metal-oxygen (M − O) bond content decreased from 50 % to 28 %. The M − H content increased, and In-H related structures underwent transformation. The radius of gyration (Rg) increasing from 1.652 nm to 1.812 nm. These results provide quantitative insights into the stability and performance of IGZO-based flexible electronic devices under mechanical deformation.

Original languageEnglish
Article number109151
JournalMaterials Science in Semiconductor Processing
Volume187
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Mar 2025

Keywords

  • Hydrogen diffusion
  • InGaZnO
  • Mechanical stress
  • Nanoscale topological structure

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Liu, B., Shen, Z., Li, X., Kuang, D., Liu, X., Zhang, S., Wen, C., Zi, X., Zhang, X., Sun, H., Yuan, G., Guo, J., Ning, C., Shi, D., Qiu, A., Wang, F., & Yu, Z. (2025). Hydrogen behavior and microstructural evolution in flexible IGZO thin films under stress. Materials Science in Semiconductor Processing, 187, Article 109151. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mssp.2024.109151