Improved off-current and subthreshold slope in aggressively scaled poly-Si TFTs with a single grain boundary in the channel

A polycrystalline-silicon thin-film transistor (TFT), with a single grain boundary (GB) present in the channel, is simulated using two-dimensional numerical simulation, which includes a model of deep trap states at GBs. It is observed that the potential barrier resulting from a GB in the channel acts to suppress current flowing through the channel when the barrier height is greater than the thermal voltage. The conduction mechanism in the subthreshold regime is clarified. The turn-on characteristics of the device are controlled primarily by gate-induced grain barrier lowering as opposed to modulation of carriers in the channel by the gate voltage. In the negative bias region it is found that suppression of the off current is aided by the GB potential barrier. Scaling of the various geometrical parameters of the device are investigated. Improved subthreshold characteristics, compared to an equivalent silicon-on-insulator (SOI) structure, are found for aggressively scaled devices, due to the presence of a GB in the channel.