STRUCTURE EVOLUTION IN InGaO3(ZnO)m INDUCED BY MILLISECOND HEATING
Material structures viewed with a close-packed layers perspective give additional insight into their observed phenomenon. Tailoring of arrangements along and between layers gives control over observed functional properties. One such layered material system is the InGaO3(ZnO)m pseudo-binary series, a part of the Indium Gallium Zinc oxide ternary system (IGZO). IGZO has found widespread application recently for TFTs in display applications. In the crystalline phase, IGZO exhibits complex layered structures along the pseudo-binary InGaO3(ZnO)m for integral m values, with the structure along and across the layers impacting the electronic properties. However, there is little knowledge about kinetics associated with developing this layered, ordered structure from the as-deposited, initially amorphous and disordered structure. Similarly, there is incomplete understanding about the structure formed at non-integral m values. A complete understanding of structural formation along the composition and processing regime will allow the understanding of structure-property correlation, allowing the identification of future candidate compositions of IGZO alloys for TFT applications. In this work, the structural evolution during short (millisecond) timescales annealing from an initially amorphous structure for ~1 < m < ~15 was studied. Composition spreads along the InGaO3(ZnO)m homologous series (~1.09 < m < ~15) were prepared using co-sputtering. The samples were annealed using the lateral gradient Laser Spike Annealing technique, with peak temperatures ranging from 500 to 1400 _ for dwell times from 250 us to 10 ms. The change in the as-deposited structure and transformed structure was characterized using ~ 20 um spatially resolved wide-angle synchrotron X-ray scattering (9.7 keV). X-ray characterization shows general conversion of as-deposited films to the m = 1 structure on annealing, with a transition toward the m = 2 behavior as m increases. The final structure of the films depends critically on the particular composition and the processing conditions. For short annealing dwells, an abrupt transition with temperature to a well-developed structure is observed, while longer dwells give rise to more gradual transformations with temperature. Differences in the structural evolution is discussed based on formation of cationic substitution point defects, diffusion of excess Zn to form equilibrium structures with lower Zn fraction, and spinodal - like decomposition at low dwell time conditions.