Sol-gel processed high-k aluminum oxide dielectric films for fully solution-processed low-voltage thin-film transistors

High-k oxide dielectric films have attracted intense interest for thin-film transistors (TFTs). However, high-quality oxide dielectrics were traditionally prepared by vacuum routes. Here, amorphous high-k alumina (Al₂O₃) thin films were prepared by the simple sol-gel spin-coating and post-annealing process. The microstructure and dielectric properties of Al₂O₃ dielectric films were systematically investigated. All the Al₂O₃ thin films annealed at 300–600?°C are in amorphous state with ultrasmooth surface (RMS ~ 0.2?nm) and high transparency (above 95%) in the visible range. The leakage current of Al₂O₃ films gradually decreases with the increase of annealing temperature. Al₂O₃ thin films annealed at 600?°C showed the low leakage current density down to 3.9?×?10^?7 A/cm² at 3?MV/cm. With the increase of annealing temperature, the capacitance first decreases then increases to 101.1?nF/cm² (at 600?°C). The obtained k values of Al₂O₃ films are up to 8.2. The achieved dielectric properties of Al₂O₃ thin films are highly comparable with that by vapor and solution methods. Moreover, the fully solution-processed InZnO TFTs with Al₂O₃ dielectric layer exhibit high mobility of 7.23?cm² V^?1 s^?1 at the low operating voltage of 3?V, which is much superior to that on SiO₂ dielectrics with mobility of 1.22?cm²/V^?1 s^?1 at the operating voltage of 40?V. These results demonstrate that solution-processed Al₂O₃ thin films are promising for low-power and high-performance oxide devices.     

Aqueous Solution‐Processable,Flexible Thin‐Film Transistors Based on Crosslinked Chitosan Dielectric Thin Films

The hydrophilic character of chitosan (CS) limits its use as a gate dielectric material in thin‐film transistors (TFTs) based on aqueous solution‐processable semiconductor materials. In this study, this drawback is overcome through controlled crosslinking of CS and report, for the first time, its application to aqueous solution‐processable TFTs. In comparison to natural CS thin films, crosslinked chitosan (Cr‐CS) thin films are hydrophobic. The dielectric properties of Cr‐CS thin films are explored through fabrication of metal–insulator–metal devices on a flexible substrate. Compared to natural CS, the Cr‐CS dielectric thin films show enhanced environmental and water stabilities, with a high breakdown voltage (10 V) and low leakage current (0.02 nA). The compatibility of Cr‐CS dielectric thin films with aqueous solution‐processable semiconductors is demonstrated by growing ZnO nanorods via a hydrothermal method to fabricate flexible TFT devices. The ZnO nanorod‐based TFTs show a high field‐effect mobility (linear regime) of 10.48 cm² V^?1 s^?1. Low temperature processing conditions (below 100 °C) and water as the solvent are utilized to ensure the process is environmental friendly to address the e‐waste problem.     

Eco-friendly,low-temperature solution production of oxide thin films for high-performance transistors via infrared irradiation of chloride precursors

In this paper, we present the infrared (IR) irradiation of chloride precursors as a promising method for the eco-friendly, low-temperature solution fabrication of oxide film devices, which typically require thermal annealing at temperature over 450?°C. By the IR irradiation of AlCl₃ precursor, high-quality Al₂O₃ dielectric films were prepared at a low temperature of 230?°C. The obtained Al₂O₃ dielectric layers had high dielectric properties, such as a high capacitance of 158?nF/cm² and a small leakage current of 5.4?×?10^?8 A/cm². Various structure characterizations confirmed the high quality of Al₂O₃ films produced by IR irradiation. Moreover, full low-temperature solution-produced thin-film transistors (TFTs) were fabricated through the IR irradiation of chloride precursors. The In₂O₃ TFTs achieved a high mobility of 33.6 cm²V^?1s^?1?at a small operation voltage of 4?V. Compared with the common thermal annealing method, IR irradiation results in better precursor conversion, higher oxygen lattice, and fewer oxygen defects. These results suggest that IR irradiation can serve as a new approach for the eco-friendly, low-temperature solution production of various oxide thin films and devices. The method is also very promising for the low-energy production of functional materials and devices.     

Sol-gel derived low temperature HfO2-GPTMS hybrid gate dielectric for a-IGZO thin-film transistors (TFTs)

In this study, we prepared inorganic-organic HfO₂-GPTMS hybrid films by a simple sol-gel method at low temperature for high-k dielectric gate applications. The hybrid films were deposited by spin coating process, followed by annealing at 150?°C. The hybrid dielectric material was characterized by Spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE), AFM, FESEM, FTIR, TGA, and XPS techniques. The resulting hybrid films exhibit homogeneous and smooth surface with high optical transparency. Their dielectric properties were analysed by measuring leakage current and capacitance versus voltage of metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitor structures. From this analysis, the leakage current density at ??5?V, capacitance and dielectric constant at 1?MHz measured on the hybrid films were 10^?7 A/cm², 51.3?nF/cm² and of 11.4 respectively. Finally, to investigate the electrical performance of the hybrid thin films as a dielectric gate in thin film transistors (TFTs), bottom-gate TFTs were fabricated by depositing the HfO₂-GPTMS dielectric gate layer on ITO-coated glass substrate and subsequently a sputtered a-IGZO thin film as the channel layer. The electrical response of the resulting TFTs demonstrated good saturation mobility of 4.74?cm² V^?1 s^?1, very low threshold voltage of 0.3?V and I_on/I_off current ratio of 10⁴, with low operating voltage under 8?V.     

Rapid and facile low-temperature solution production of ZrO2 films as high-k dielectrics for flexible low-voltage thin-film transistors

A rapid lightwave (LW) irradiation method was presented for the low-temperature solution production of ZrO₂ films as high-k dielectrics for flexible high-performance thin-film transistors (TFTs). The LW irradiation process markedly decreased the required processing temperature and processing time. Microstructure characterizations confirmed the successful formation of ZrO₂ films with an ultrasmooth surface, large band gap (>5 eV) and low defect level. The ZrO₂ film produced via LW irradiation at ∼200 °C in only 8 min presented excellent dielectric properties, including a small leakage current of 3.3 × 10⁻⁸ A/cm² and a large capacitance of 296 nF/cm², significantly outperforming the films by the conventional high-temperature annealing process at 400 °C for 60 min. Furthermore, LW irradiation was extended to the channel layer. The rapid low-temperature solution-processed InZrO_x TFTs exhibited superior electrical characteristics, such as a high carrier mobility of 41.3 cm²V⁻¹s⁻¹ and a high on-off current ratio of 10⁵∼10⁶ at a low operation voltage of 3 V due to the employment of high-quality ZrO₂ dielectric films. Moreover, the flexible TFT on a polyimide (PI) plastic substrate achieved a high mobility of nearly 30 cm²V⁻¹s⁻¹, indicating that LW irradiation is highly promising for the rapid and low-temperature solution production of high-quality and flexible oxide electronic devices.     

Enhancement of Al-N co-dopant solubility in ZnO by high temperature thermal annealing

In this paper, we have developed a method to enhance the Al-N co-dopant solubility in bulk ZnO prepared by solid state reaction method. Reactive donor Al and acceptor N were mobilized by annealing the samples at various temperatures from 650 to 850?°C with a step of 50?°C in a programmable furnace. The solubility enhancement argument was verified by the conductivity measurements which showed that the conductivity of annealed films increases as the annealing temperature increases. The activation energy was calculated by the Arrhenius plot and was found to be (0.08?eV) very close to activation energy of shallow acceptor (nitrogen). To further strengthened our argument, we have also performed XRD, FTIR, Raman Spectroscopy and SEM measurements. XRD data suggested that only ZnO phases were present and no evidence for the presence of AlN, Al₂O₃ or Zn₃N₂ phases. We have also observed weakening and peak shifting of (002) with annealing temperature that suggested the incorporation of more acceptor defects in the crystal of ZnO. FTIR results verified the presence of Zn-O bond (437?cm^?1) along with week vibration of Al-N bond at 917?cm^?1. Raman spectroscopy data consists of 2E₂, A₁ (LO) and E_2(high) modes of ZnO but sample annealed at 800?°C has additional nitrogen related mode at 507?cm^?1. SEM images demonstrated the crystalline nature of samples having smooth surface but sample annealed at 800?°C has rough surface which indicated the enhancement of acceptor defects density.     

Improvement in performance of indium gallium oxide thin film transistor via oxygen mediated crystallization at a low temperature of 200 °C

We report the fabrication of high-performance polycrystalline indium gallium oxide (IGO) thin film transistors (TFTs) at a low temperature of 200 °C. Growth of a highly aligned cubic phase with a bixbyite structure was accelerated at a certain proportion of oxygen plasma density during deposition of the IGO thin film, which leads to outstanding electrical characteristics. The resulting polycrystalline IGO TFT exhibited a high field-effect mobility of 56.0 cm²/V, a threshold voltage (V_TH) of 0.10 V, a low subthreshold gate swing of 0.10 V/decade, and a current modulation ratio of >10⁸. Moreover, the crystalline IGO TFTs have highly stable behaviors with a small V_TH shift of +0.8 and ?1.0 V against a positive bias stress (V_GS,ST ?V_TH = 20 V) and negative bias illumination stress (V_GS,ST ?V_TH = ?20 V) for 3,600 s, which is attributed to the high quality of the bixbyite crystalline structure.     

Preparation and effects of post-annealing temperature on the electrical characteristics of Li–N co-doped ZnSnO thin film transistors

In this study, transparent Li–N co-doped ZnSnO (ZTO: (Li, N)) thin film transistors (TFTs) with a staggered bottom-gate structure were fabricated by radio frequency magnetron sputtering at room temperature. Emphasis was placed on investigating the effects of post-annealing temperature on their physical and electrical properties. An appropriate post-annealing temperature contributes not only to achieving good quality thin films, but also to improving the electrical performance of the ZTO: (Li, N) TFTs. The ZTO: (Li, N) TFTs annealed at 675 °C showed the best electrical characteristics with a high saturation mobility of 26.8 cm²V⁻¹s⁻¹, a threshold voltage of 6.0 V and a large on/off current ratio of 4.5×10⁷.     

Electrical and chemical stability engineering of solution-processed indium zinc oxide thin film transistors via a synergistic approach of annealing duration and self-combustion process

The electrical and chemical stability of solution-processed indium zinc oxide (IZO) channel thin-film transistors (TFTs) were engineered via a synergistic approach of annealing duration and self-combustion process. In particular, the amorphous IZO TFTs that were thermally treated at 400 °C for 3 h using the specific precursor combination to generate internal self-combustion energy showed the best electrical performance [high saturation mobility (μ_SAT)=2.7 cm²/V s] and stability [low threshold voltage shift (ΔV_TH) under positive bias stress of 10.5 V] owing to the formation of oxide films with excellent metal–oxide–metal (M–O–M) bonds, fewer impurities, and an amorphous phase compared to IZO TFTs using other precursor formulas and annealing times. Longer annealing times led to a saturated M–O bond ratio and crystallization via extreme thermal annealing, which induced electrical degradation (low μ_SAT and high ΔV_TH) of IZO TFTs. In the wet chemical patterning of electrodes, conventional acidic and basic wet etchants cause severe damage to the surfaces of the IZO channels; thus, insufficiently annealed IZO TFTs exhibited considerable degradation in terms of their on-current level and mobility. Alternatively, the TFTs subjected to an excessively long-term thermal annealing showed only a moderate decrease in mobility with the formation of small nanocrystals.     

Intermediate temperature electrical properties in 4 mol% ZnO-doped Zr0.92Y0.08O2-α/NaCl-KCl composite electrolyte

In this paper, 4?mol% ZnO-doped Zr_0.92Y_0.08O_2-α (8YSZ) and its 8YSZ+4ZnO/NaCl-KCl composite electrolyte were synthesized by a solid-state reaction. The X–ray diffraction (XRD) analysis indicates that 8YSZ+4ZnO and inorganic chlorides phases can coexist. The inorganic chlorides decrease the synthesis temperature of 8YSZ+4ZnO. The highest conductivities of 8YSZ+4ZnO and 8YSZ+4ZnO-NK are 7.0?×?10^?3 S?cm^?1 and 7.7?×?10^?2 S?cm^?1 at 700?°C, respectively. The oxygen concentration discharge cell shows that 8YSZ+4ZnO and 8YSZ+4ZnO-NK are good oxide ionic conductors under an oxygen-containing atmosphere. Finally, an H₂/O₂ fuel cell based on the 8YSZ+4ZnO-NK electrolyte reached the maximum power density (P_max) of 315.5?mW?cm^?2 at 700?°C.     

Enhanced electrical properties of In-Ga-Sn-O thin films at low-temperature annealing

Electrical and optical properties of In-Ga-Sn-O (IGTO) thin films deposited by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering were investigated according to annealing temperatures. While IGTO films remained an amorphous phase even after a heat treatment at temperature up to 500 °C, Hall measurements showed that annealing temperature had a significant impact on electrical properties of IGTO thin films. After investigating a wide range of annealing temperatures for samples from as-deposited state to 500 °C, IGTO film annealed at 200 °C exhibited the best electrical performance with a conductivity of 229.31 Ω^?1cm^?1, a Hall mobility of 36.89 cm²V^?1s^?1, and a carrier concentration of 3.85 × 10¹⁹ cm^?3. Changes in proportions of oxygen-related defects and percentages of Sn²⁺ and Sn⁴⁺ ions within IGTO films according to annealing temperatures were analyzed with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to determine the cause of the superb performance of IGTO at a low temperature. In IGTO films annealed at 200 °C, Sn⁴⁺ ions acting as donor defects accounted for a high percentage, whereas hydroxyl groups working as electron traps showed a significantly reduced percentage compared to the as-deposited film. Optical band gaps of IGTO films obtained from UV–visible spectrum were 3.38–3.47 eV. The largest band gap value of 3.47 eV for the IGTO film annealed at 200 °C could be attributed to an increase in Fermi-level due to an increase of carrier concentration in the conduction band. These spectroscopic results well matched with electrical properties of IGTO films according to annealing temperatures. Excellent electrical properties of IGTO thin films annealed at 200 °C could be largely due to Sn donors besides oxygen vacancies, resulting in a significant increase in free carriers despite a low annealing. temperature.     

Effect of annealing temperature on the morphology and antibacterial activity of Mg-doped zinc oxide nanorods

Herein, magnesium-doped zinc oxide nanorods (MgZnO NRs) were synthesized by the co-precipitation method and annealed at different temperatures in the range of 100–500?°C. The increase in the annealing temperature was found to influence both chemical and morphological structures of the MgZnO NRs: Ultraviolet–visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy showed an increase in band gap with increase in the annealing temperature. Fourier-transform infrared spectra showed that two characteristic peaks at 487?cm^?1 and 442?cm^?1 corresponding to a weak Zn–O stretching initially decreased and then disappeared with increase in the annealing temperature. Moreover, the MgZnO NRs annealed at 100?°C had large crystallite size, high aspect ratio, and narrow edges. Remarkably, the MgZnO NRs annealed at 100?°C exhibited the highest antibacterial activity against both S. aureus and E. coli strains, attributed to the high aspect ratio and diffusion ability of the Zn²⁺ ions and large surface charge, crystallite size, and surface area. The MgZnO NRs annealed at the relatively low temperature of 100?°C could be easily produced commercially, in large quantities, and effectively used to prevent the growth of foodborne microbes in food packaging applications.     

Extremely Thin Al2O3 Surface‐Passivated Nanocrystalline ZnO Thin‐Film Transistors Designed for Low Process Temperature

Nanocrystalline ZnO (nc‐ZnO) thin‐film transistors (TFTs) exhibit inherent instability under bias/photo stresses, which originates from the oxygen molecules adsorbed on the surface of the crystal grains. The space charge region at nanocrystal surfaces that is induced by adsorbed oxygen molecules produces a high electrical potential barrier and significantly interrupts charge transport between the source and drain in nc‐ZnO TFTs. In this article, we developed high‐performance TFTs via the continuous deposition of an extremely thin Al₂O₃ layer on a nc‐ZnO channel. These devices were fabricated by atomic layer deposition at an extremely low process temperature of 150°C, including both the deposition and postannealing temperatures. The nc‐ZnO TFT with an extremely thin Al₂O₃ layer (1.8 nm) showed a significantly higher mobility (25 cm²/Vs) compared to devices without an Al₂O₃ layer (3.6 cm²/Vs). This dramatic difference was ascribed to the suppression of the chemisorption of oxygen molecules at the nanocrystal surface during thermal annealing (reducing the potential barrier width/height between adjacent nanocrystals). Furthermore, ultrathin Al₂O₃‐covered nc‐ZnO TFTs exhibited considerably enhanced electrical/photo stability due to the reduction in adsorption/desorption events of oxygen molecules on the nanocrystal surfaces (with no change in the depletion width after illumination) under gate bias or illumination stress.     

High-performance ITO/a-IGZO heterostructure TFTs enabled by thickness-dependent carrier concentration and band alignment manipulation

Utilization of highly conductive metal-oxide (MO) film such as indium-tin-oxide (ITO) in a channel layer has been considered as a promising strategy to realize high-mobility thin-film transistors (TFTs). However, achieving high-mobility is typically restricted by severe negative threshold voltage (V_th) shift and large off-current which are consequences of channel thickness increment. Here, to realize high-mobility MO TFTs with low V_th and off-current level, a heterogeneous ITO/amorphous indium-gallium-zinc-oxide (a-IGZO) channel structure was implemented. In the channel, the ultrathin (4 nm) ITO layer contributes to retain high electron concentration and boost the mobility, while the overlayered a-IGZO layer mitigates V_th shift and off-current increase. The ITO/a-IGZO TFTs optimized via the thickness-dependent carrier concentration of ITO and band alignment manipulation in the bilayer considerably improved the device performance showing saturation field-effect mobility of >61 cm²/V·s (average of 58.2 ± 2 cm²/V·s), subthreshold slope of <120 mV/decade (average of 129 ± 12 mV/decade), and current on/off ratio of >5 × 10¹⁰. Various electrical characterization and technological computer-aided design simulation were performed to establish a plausible mechanism explaining enhanced mobility and V_th regulation in the ITO/a-IGZO TFTs. Additionally, systematic stability tests and spectroscopic analysis were carried out to evaluate the operational stability of the device, and it is suggested that Sn ion diffusing from ITO to the heterogeneous interface can be responsible for enhanced stability by reducing the oxygen vacancy defects.     

The effect of solvent water content on the dielectric properties of Al2O3 films grown by atmospheric pressure mist-CVD

Aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃) dielectric layers were grown by a mist-chemical vapor deposition (mist-CVD) process at 300 °C, using solvent mixtures containing acetone and water. As the acetone to water ratio was varied from 9:1 to 7:3, the leakage current of Al₂O₃ at an electric field of 7 MV/cm² decreased from 9.0 × 10^?7 to 4.4 × 10^?10 A/cm², and the dielectric constant increased from 6.03 to 6.85 with improved hysteresis during capacitance-voltage measurements. Consequently, the most robust Al₂O₃ films were obtained at an acetone to water ratio of 7:3, with a dielectric constant (κ) close to the ideal value 7.0, and a breakdown field of approximately 9 MV/cm. Thin film transistors (TFTs) incorporating In-Sn-Zn-O (ITZO) as the semiconductor were fabricated with the Al₂O₃ (7:3) dielectric onto p⁺⁺-Si substrates. The devices exhibit high electrical performance, with a high field effect mobility of 42.7 cm²V^?1s^?1, and a small subthreshold swing (S.S.) value of 0.44 V/decade.     

Enhanced electrical properties in Nd and Ce co-doped CaBi4Ti4O15 high temperature piezoceramics

Lead-free piezoelectric material with excellent piezoelectric properties and high Curie temperature is necessary for practical applications. In this work, (Nd, Ce) co-doped CaBi₄Ti₄O₁₅ (CBT) ceramics were prepared by the conventional solid-state reaction technique. The effect of (Nd, Ce) co-doping on the structure and resulting electrical properties of CBT ceramics was systematically investigated. The optimized comprehensive performances were obtained at x?=?0.075 with a large piezoelectric coefficient (19 pC/N), a low dielectric loss (0.073%) and a high Curie temperature (794?°C). More importantly, the ceramic also maintained a very high resistance and a low dielectric loss even at 400?°C (ρ?=?2.5?×?10⁸ Ω?cm, tan δ?=?1.96%) and the d₃₃ showed no sign of waning after annealed at 400?°C, which shows great potential for high temperature piezoelectric device applications. Related mechanisms for the enhancement of electrical properties were discussed.     

A novel economical grain boundary engineered ultra-high performance ZnO varistor with lesser dopants

A varistor having ultra-high performance was developed from doped ZnO nanopowders using a novel composition consisting of only three (Bi, Ca and Co oxides) dopants. Improved varistor properties were obtained (breakdown field (E_b) 27.5?±?5?kVcm^?1, coefficient of nonlinearity (α) 72?±?3 and leakage current density (L_c) 1.5?±?0.06?μAcm^?2) which are attributed to the small grain size and grain boundary engineering by phases such as Ca₄Bi₆O₁₃ and Ca_0.89Bi_3.11O_5.56 along with Co⁺² doping in the ZnO lattice. Complex impedance data indicated three relaxations at 25?°C and two relaxations at high temperature (>100?°C). The complex impedance data were fitted into two parallel RC model to extract electrical properties. Two stages of activation energy for DC conductivity were observed in these varistor samples where region I (<150?°C) is found to be due to shallow traps and region II (<225?°C) is due to deep traps. The novel composition is useful for commercial exploitation in wide range of surge protection applications.     

Low-temperature sintering and microwave dielectric properties of B2O3-added ZnO-deficient Zn2GeO4 ceramics for advanced substrate application

ZnO-deficient Zn_2-xGeO_4-x ceramics with 0.05?≤?x?≤?0.15 were synthesized because a ZnO secondary phase is formed in the stoichiometric Zn₂GeO₄ ceramics synthesized using micrometer-sized ZnO and GeO₂ powders. The Zn_1.9GeO_3.9 ceramic sintered at 1000?°C showed a homogeneous Zn₂GeO₄ phase with good microwave dielectric properties: ε_r of 6.8, Q?×?f of 49,000?GHz, and τ_f of ?16.7?ppm/°C. However, its sintering temperature was still too high for it to be used as an advanced substrate for low-temperature co-fired ceramic devices. Therefore, various amounts of B₂O₃ were added to the Zn_1.9GeO_3.9 ceramics to reduce their sintering temperature. Owing to the formation of a B₂O₃-GeO₂ liquid phase, these ceramics were well sintered at low temperatures between 925?°C and 950?°C. In particular, 15?mol% B₂O₃-added Zn_1.9GeO_3.9 ceramic sintered at 950?°C showed promising microwave dielectric properties for advanced substrates without the reaction with an Ag electrode: ε_r?=?6.9, Q?×?f?=?79,000?GHz, and τ_f?=??15?ppm/°C.     

Crystallization behaviour and properties of BaO-CaO-B2O3-SiO2 glasses and glass-ceramics for LTCC applications

The influence of BaO content (up to 15?mol%) on the crystallization behaviour, structure, thermal properties and microwave dielectric properties of the BaO-CaO-B₂O₃-SiO₂ glasses and glass-ceramics system was investigated. The glasses were produced by melting at 1400?°C and quenching into water, and the glass-ceramics were produced via heat treatment at temperatures between 750 and 800?°C. The results of X-ray diffraction analysis showed that increasing the BaO content raised the resistance of the glass against crystallization and favoured the transformation of β-CaSiO₃ and α-CaSiO₃ phases, which crystallized in the Ba-free and in low BaO content compositions, into SiO₂ and Ba₄Si₆O₁₆, which crystallized in compositions with higher concentrations of BaO. The BaO content had little influence on the glass transition temperature (T_g) and the linear coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), but strongly reduced the softening point (T_s). Even the addition of BaO as minor additives resulted in a dramatic reduction of the T_s; for example, the T_s decreased from 902?°C for the Ba-free composition to 682?°C for the BaO-containing one (5%). Low values of the dielectric constant (5.9?≤?ε_r ≤?6.63) and dielectric loss (1.12?×?10^?3 ≤?tanδ?≤?3.15?×?10^?3) were measured.     

Improved properties of scandia and yttria co-doped zirconia as a potential thermal barrier material for high temperature applications

Due to the limited temperature capability of current YSZ thermal barrier coating (TBC) material, considerable effort has been expended world-wide to research new candidates for TBC applications above 1200?°C. Our study suggested that Sc₂O₃ and Y₂O₃ co-doped ZrO₂ (ScYSZ) had excellent t’ phase stability even after annealed at 1500?°C for 336?h. The thermal expansion coefficient of ScYSZ was comparable to the value of YSZ. The thermal conductivity of fully dense ScYSZ was in the range of 2.13–1.91?W?m^?1?K^?1 (25–1300?°C), approximately 25% lower than that of YSZ. Although the fracture toughness of dense ScYSZ was slightly lower than YSZ, an evident decline in elastic modulus was found. Additionally, thermal cycling lifetime of plasma sprayed ScYSZ coating (914 cycles) at 1300?°C was about 2.6 times longer than its YSZ counterpart. The superior comprehensive properties confirm that ScYSZ is a prospective candidate material for high-temperature TBC application.