Thin film transistor and method of manufacturing the same

This application claims priority to and the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2007-0136827 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Dec. 24, 2007, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to a thin film transistor (TFT) for an organic light emitting diode (OLED) device, and a method of manufacturing the thin film transistor.

2. Description of the Related Art

Today, society has become more information-oriented than in the past. To display and convey the desired information, demand for high-performance displays, which can rapidly represent various data in the form of images, graphics, letters, etc. has been on the rise. A consequence of this rising demand for high-performance displays is the sharp growth of display-related industries.

As communication devices such as personal computers (PCs), mobile phones, personal digital assistances (PDAs), etc., become slimmer and lighter, their display components are correspondingly required to be slimmer and lighter. For this reason, popularity of the heavy and bulky cathode ray tubes (CRTs) that once dominated the display industry is waning. Flat panel displays, such as organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays, are rising in popularity as an attractive alternative to CRTs. The OLEDs, which are self-emission displaying means, allow low power consumption and are compact in size compared to other displays. Therefore, the OLEDs are often considered to be the “next generation displays” to dominate the display industry.

OLED displays include thin film transistors (TFTs) to drive the display signals. TFTs in OLED displays generally have more complicated structures than TFTs in other flat displays, such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs), due to inherent limitations to the manufacturing processes and structures, which may make it difficult for the TFTs to be applicable to various TFT backplane structures and wiring.

Therefore, there is a need of TFTs for OLEDs having an improved structure to overcome such limitations.

The present invention provides a thin film transistor for an organic light emitting diode device, having an improved structure to overcome limitations to the manufacturing process and structures of the OLEDs.

The present invention also provides a method of manufacturing the thin film transistor.

One exemplary embodiment of the present invention provides a thin film transistor including: first and second ohmic contact layers, activation layer, an insulating layer, a source electrode, a drain electrode, a gate electrode and a protective layer. The first and second ohmic contact layers are formed on an insulating substrate, and the activation layer is formed on the insulating substrate and the first and second ohmic contact layers, and the insulating layer is formed on the activation layer, and the source electrode is formed on the insulating layer and electrically connected to the first ohmic contact layer through a first contact hole, and the first contact hole extends through the activation layer and the insulating layer to the first ohmic contact layer, and the drain electrode is formed on the insulating layer and electrically connected to the second ohmic contact layer through a second contact hole, and the second contact hole extends through the activation layer and the insulating layer to the second ohmic contact layer; a gate electrode formed on the insulating layer between the source electrode and the drain electrode and overlapping the activation layer, and the protective layer formed on the source electrode, the drain electrode, and the gate electrode.

The source electrode, the drain electrode, and the gate electrode may be formed from substantially the same layer.

The protective layer has a third contact hole extending to the drain electrode so that the drain electrode is electrically connected to a pixel electrode.

A distance between the source electrode and the gate electrode ranges from about 1 μm to about 20 μm.

A distance between the drain electrode and the gate electrode may range from about 1 μm to about 20 μm.

The distance between an end of the gate electrode and an end of each of the first and second ohmic contact layers may range from about −4 μm to about 20 μm, wherein the distance is measured ni a direction that is parallel to a surface of the insulating substrate on which layers are formed.

The activation layer may be formed of crystalline silicon or amorphous silicon.

The insulating layer may be formed of silicon oxide (SiOx) or silicon nitride (SiNx).

The source electrode, the drain electrode, and the gate electrode may be formed of a conductive metal.

The protective layer may be formed of silicon oxide (SiOx) or silicon nitride (SiNx).

In another aspect, the present invention provides a method of manufacturing a thin film transistor. In the method of manufacturing the thin film transistor, first and second ohmic contact layers are formed on an insulating substrate, and an activation layer is formed on the insulating substrate, and the first and second ohmic contact layers, and an insulating layer is formed on the activation layer, and first and second contact holes are formed that extend through the activation layer and the insulating layer to the first and second ohmic contact layers, respectively, and a metal layer is formed on the insulating layer to be connected to the first and second ohmic contact layers, and the metal layer is patterned to form a gate electrode, and a source electrode and a drain electrode spaced from the gate electrode, and a protective layer is formed on the source electrode, the drain electrode, and the gate electrode.

The method may further include: forming a third contact hole extending to the drain electrode, the third contact hole extending through the protective layer.

A distance between the source electrode and the gate electrode may range from about 1 μm to about 20 μm.

A distance between the drain electrode and the gate electrode may range from about 1 μm to about 20 μm.

The distance between an end of the gate electrode and an end of each of the first and second ohmic contact layers may range from about −4 μm to about 20 μm wherein the distance is measured in a direction that is parallel to a surface of the insulating substrate on which the activation layer is formed.

The activation layer may be formed of crystalline silicon or amorphous silicon.

The insulating layer may be formed of silicon oxide (SiOx) or silicon nitride (SiNx).

The insulating layer may be formed of silicon oxide (SiOx) or silicon nitride (SiNx).

The above and other features of the present invention will be described in reference to certain exemplary embodiments thereof with reference to the attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a thin film transistor according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and

FIGS. 2A to 2K are cross-sectional views for illustrating a process of manufacturing a TFT according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

The invention now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being “on” another element, it can be directly on the other element or intervening elements may be present there between. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on” another element, there are no intervening elements present. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, third etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another element, component, region, layer or section. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachings of the present invention.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “includes” and/or “comprising,” or “includes” and/or “including” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, regions, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, regions, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

Furthermore, relative terms, such as “lower” or “bottom” and “upper” or “top,” may be used herein to describe one element's relationship to other elements as illustrated in the Figures. It will be understood that relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in addition to the orientation depicted in the Figures. For example, if the device in one of the figures is turned over, elements described as being on the “lower” side of other elements would then be oriented on “upper” sides of the other elements. The exemplary term “lower”, can therefore, encompasses both an orientation of “lower” and “upper,” depending of the particular orientation of the figure. Similarly, if the device in one of the figures is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements would then be oriented “above” the other elements. The exemplary terms “below” or “beneath” can, therefore, encompass both an orientation of above and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and the present disclosure, and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

Embodiments of the present invention are described herein with reference to cross section illustrations that are schematic illustrations of idealized embodiments of the present invention. As such, variations from the shapes of the illustrations as a result, for example, of manufacturing techniques and/or tolerances, are to be expected. Thus, embodiments of the present invention should not be construed as limited to the particular shapes of regions illustrated herein but are to include deviations in shapes that result, for example, from manufacturing. For example, a region illustrated or described as flat may, typically, have rough and/or nonlinear features. Moreover, sharp angles that are illustrated may be rounded. Thus, the regions illustrated in the figures are schematic in nature and their shapes are not intended to illustrate the precise shape of a region and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2A to 2 J.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a thin film transistor according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1 , the thin film transistor includes first and second ohmic contact layers 110 a and 110 b , an activation layer 120 , an insulating layer 130 , a source electrode 140 a , a drain electrode 140 b , a gate electrode 140 c , and a protective layer 150 .

The first and second ohmic contact layers 110 a and 110 b are spaced apart from each other on an insulating substrate 100 by a prescribed separation distance to improve contact resistance properties between the activation layer 120 and the source electrode 140 a , and between the activation layer 120 and the drain electrode 140 b . The first and second ohmic contact layers 110 a and 110 b may be formed of, for example, ion-doped amorphous silicon.

The activation layer 120 covers parts of the first and second ohmic contact layers 110 a and 110 b and a part of the insulating substrate 120 between the first and second ohmic contact layers 110 a and 110 b . The activation layer 120 may be formed of, for example, crystalline silicon or amorphous silicon.

The insulating layer 130 is disposed on the activation layer 120 to insulate the activation layer 120 and the gate electrode 140 c from each other. The insulating layer 130 may be formed of, for example, silicon oxide (SiOx) or silicon nitride (SiNx).

Referring to FIG. 2F , first and second contact holes 130 a and 130 b extend through the insulating layer 130 and activation layer 120 to expose the first and second ohmic contact layers 110 a and 110 b.

The source electrode 140 a , drain electrode 140 b , and gate electrode 140 c are disposed on the insulating layer 130 . The source electrode 140 a and drain electrode 140 b are electrically connected to the first and second ohmic contact layers 110 a and 110 b through the first and second contact holes 130 a and 130 b , respectively. The gate electrode 140 c is located between the source electrode 140 a and drain electrode 140 b and separated from the source electrode 140 a and drain electrode 140 b . Also, the gate electrode 140 c overlaps the activation layer 120 .

The source electrode 140 a , the drain electrode 140 b , and gate electrode 140 c are patterned on the same layer, thus preventing possible misalignments. Also, the number of insulating layers 130 can be reduced. Thus, the process and structure may be simplified.

The distance D 1 between the source electrode 140 a and the gate electrode 140 c may range from 1 μm to 20 μm, and the distance D 2 between the drain electrode 140 b and the gate electrode 140 c may range from 1 μm to 20 μm. And, the distances D 3 and D 4 between an end of the gate electrode 140 c and an end of each of the first and second ohmic contact layers 110 a and 110 b may range from −4 μm to 20 μm. In the distances D 3 and D 4 , a negative sign indicates that the gate electrode 140 c overlaps the first or second ohmic contact layers 110 a and 110 b by the distance D 3 or D 4 , and a positive sign indicates that the gate electrode 140 c is spaced apart from each of the first and second ohmic contact layers 110 a and 110 b by the distances D 3 and D 4 . The distances D 3 and D 4 may be same or different.

As shown in FIG. 1 , distances D 1 , D 2 , D 3 , and D 4 are measured in a direction that is parallel to the surface of the insulating substrate 100 on which the layers (e.g., the activation layer 120 ) are formed.

The protective layer 150 is formed on the source electrode 140 a , drain electrode 140 b , and gate electrode 140 c . The insulating layer 150 may be formed of, for example, silicon oxide (SiOx) or silicon nitride (SiNx).

Referring to FIG. 2J , the protective layer 150 may have a third contact hole 150 a , and the third contact hole 150 a exposes a part of the drain electrode 140 b so that the drain electrode 140 b can be connected to the pixel electrode 160 . FIGS. 2A to 2J are views for illustrating a process of manufacturing a TFT according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIGS. 2A and 2B , the first and second ohmic contact layers 110 a and 110 b are formed on the insulating substrate 100 . More specifically, an ion-doped amorphous silicon layer 110 is deposited on the insulating substrate 110 by a deposition method, such as PECVD (Plasma Enhanced Convention Vapor Deposition), and then the first and second ohmic contact layers 110 a and 110 b are patterned by a photolithography process using a mask. The ion-doped amorphous silicon layer 110 may be phosphorous doped amorphous silicon layer or boron doped amorphous silicon layer. The ion-doped amorphous silicon layer 110 may be deposited on the insulating substrate 100 by an ion implantation process or ion shower process.

Referring to FIGS. 2C and 2D , the activation layer 120 is formed to cover the first and second ohmic contact layers 110 a and 110 b and a part of the insulating substrate 100 between the first and second ohmic contact layers 110 a and 110 b . More specifically, an amorphous silicon layer is deposited on the first and second ohmic contact layers 110 a and 110 b by a deposition method, such as PECVD, and then patterned using photolithography and etching process to complete the activation layer 120 . Before the deposition of the amorphous silicon layer, the top surfaces of the first and second ohmic contact layers 110 a and 110 b may be treated by a process, such as dehydration, HF washing, H 2 Pt treatment, etc.

The dual layer of the activation layer 120 and each of the first and second ohmic contact layers 110 a and 110 b may undergo solid phase crystallization (SPC) process. The SPC process may create an ion-doped contact portion on the upper parts of the ohmic contact layers 110 a and 110 b , thereby improving contact properties between the activation layer 120 and ohmic contact layers 110 a and 110 b . The patterning of ion-doped layer progresses simultaneously with the SPC process, thus eliminating any necessity of additional processes.

Referring to FIG. 2E , the insulating layer 130 is formed on the activation layer 120 . The insulating layer 130 may be formed of, for example, silicon oxide (SiOx) or silicon nitride (SiNx).

Referring to FIG. 2F , the first and second contact holes 130 a and 130 b are disposed on the insulating layer 130 and activation layer 120 . The first and second ohmic contact layers 110 a and 110 b may be formed using, for example, photolithography and etching process. The first and second ohmic contact layers 110 a and 110 b make contact with a metal layer 140 through the first and second contact holes 130 a and 130 b , respectively, which will be subsequently formed.

Referring to FIG. 2G , the metal layer 140 is formed on the insulating layer 130 to make contact with the first and second ohmic contact layers 110 a and 110 b . The metal layer 130 may be formed by sputtering.

In FIG. 2H , the metal layer 140 is patterned to form the source electrode 140 a , drain electrode 140 b , and gate electrode 140 c . The source electrode 140 a , drain electrode 140 b , and gate electrode 140 c may be formed using photolithography and etching process. The source electrode 140 a and drain electrode 140 b are electrically connected to the first and second ohmic contact layers 110 a and 110 b through the first and second contact holes 130 a and 130 b , respectively. The gate electrode 140 c is located between the source electrode 140 a and drain electrode 140 b and separated from the source electrode 140 a and drain electrode 140 b . Also, the gate electrode 140 c overlaps the activation layer 120 .

Referring to FIG. 2I , the protective layer 150 is formed on the source electrode 140 a , drain electrode 140 b , and gate electrode 140 c . The insulating layer 150 may be formed of, for example, silicon oxide (SiOx) or silicon nitride (SiNx), using, for example, PECVD. Referring to FIG. 2J , the protective layer 150 is partially removed to form the third contact hole 150 a to expose the drain electrode 140 b . Referring to FIG. 2K , the drain electrode 140 b is electrically connected to the pixel electrode 160 through the third contact hole 150 a.

As described above, the TFTs according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention can overcome their structural limitations to be applicable to various backplane structures and wiring.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to certain exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that a variety of modifications and variations may be made to the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention defined in the appended claims, and their equivalents.