Effect of passivation layer on InGaZnO thin-film transistors with hybrid silver nanowires as source and drain electrodes

InGaZnO (IGZO) thin-film transistors (TFTs) with hybrid silver nanowires (hybrid-AgNWs) as the source and drain electrodes exhibit superior performance according to the on/off current ratio (≈10⁶), subthreshold swing (SS) (367mV/decade), and mobility (15.6cm²V^-1 s^-1). The transfer and output characteristics of nanowire-based electrodes are comparable with those of titanium electrodes. The devices are fabricated on a plastic substrate and are highly transparent (>70%) and flexible. The device performance is severely degraded during operation in air, especially under high humidity conditions, and progressive deterioration resulting from water molecule diffusion leads to a high current density when the device is swept. Hence, introducing a passivation layer on the hybrid-AgNW electrodes is imperative.