Seminar Report

on
Transparent Electronics

Submitted by:-Bharat Gupta

Roll no:-11520042
Sec:-ECE-3
 Abstract
Transparent electronics is an emerging science and technology field focused
on producing ‘invisible’ electronic circuitry and opto-electronic devices.
Applications include consumer electronics, new energy sources, and
transportation; for example, automobile windshields could transmit visual
information to the driver. Glass in almost any setting could also double as an
electronic device, possibly improving security systems or offering transparent
displays. In a similar vein, windows could be used to produce electrical
power. Other civilian and military applications in this research field include
realtime wearable displays. As for conventional Si/III–V-based electronics,
the basic device structure is based on semiconductor junctions and
transistors. However, the device building block materials, the semiconductor,
the electric contacts, and the dielectric/passivation layers, must now be
transparent in the visible –a true challenge! Therefore, the first scientific goal
of this technology must be to discover, understand, and implement
transparent high-performance electronic materials. The second goal is their
implementation and evaluation in transistor and circuit structures. The third
goal relates to achieving application-specific properties since transistor
performance and materials property requirements vary, depending on the
final product device specifications. Consequently, to enable this revolutionary
technology requires bringing together expertise from various pure and
applied sciences, including materials science, chemistry, physics,
electrical/electronic/circuit engineering, and display science.
 Contents
1 .Introduction
2. Combining Optical Transparency with Electrical
Conductivity
3. Electronic Properties of Conventional TCO
4.Transparent electronics devices
5. Passive linear devices
6.Resistors
7. Capacitors
8.Inductors
9. Transparent thin-film transistors (TTFTs)
10.Applications
11.Future Scope
12.Conclusion and Remarks
13. References
 1. Introduction

Transparent electronics uses TCOs and TFTs to produce invisible electronic

circuits.The classes of material available for transparent electronics have
grown dramatically in the last decade. The TCO is widely used as oxide
material as it is both electrically conductive and optically transparent.
Transparent conductors are neither 100% optically transparent nor
metallically conductive. From the band structure point of view, the
combination of the two properties in the same material is a contradictory. A
transparent material is an insulator which posses completely field valance &
empty conduction band while conductive material has Fermi level of
completely field conduction and valance band. The most commonly used
TCO in transparent electronics are In2O3, SnO2, ZnO and CdO. Transparent
conducting oxide such as Sn doped In2O3; Al doped ZnO & Sb doped SnO2
are widely used as transparent LCD, Organic light emitting diode & solar
cell. In addition TCO are applied to transparent optoelectronics because it has
unique feature of optically transparent in visible region.
 2. Combining Optical Transpirency
with Electrical Conductivity
Transparent conductors are neither 100% optically transparent nor
metallically conductive. From the band structure point of view, the
combination of the two properties in the same material is contradictory: a
transparent material is an insulator which possesses completely filled valence
and empty conduction bands; whereas metallic conductivity appears when
the Fermi level lies within a band with a large density of states to provide
high carrier concentration.Efficient transparent conductors find their niche in
a compromise between a sufficient transmission within the visible spectral
range and a moderate but useful in practice electrical conductivity. This
combination is achieved in several commonly used oxides – In2O3, SnO2,
ZnO and CdO. In the undoped stoichiometric state, these materials are
insulators with optical band gap of about 3 eV. To become a transparent
conducting oxide (TCO), these TCO hosts must be degenerately doped to
displace the Fermi level up into the conduction band. The key attribute of any
conventional n-type TCO host is a highly dispersed single freeelectron- like
conduction band (Figure 1). Degenerate doping then provides both (i) the
high mobility of extra carriers (electrons) due to their small effective mass
and (ii) lowoptical absorption due to the lowdensity of states in the
conduction band. The high energy dispersion of the conduction band also
ensures a pronounced Fermi energy displacement up above the conduction
band minimum, the Burstein–Moss (BM) shift. The shift helps to broaden the
optical transparency window and to keep the intense optical transitions from
the valence band out of the visible range. This is critical in oxides which are
not transparent throughout the entire visible spectrum, for example, in CdO
where the optical (direct) band gap is 2.3 eV. The figure shows Schematic
electronic band structure of aTCO host – an insulator with a band gap Eg and
a dispersed parabolic conduction band which originates from interactions
between metal s and oxygen p states. (b) and (c) Schematic band structure
and density of states of a TCO, where a degenerate doping displaces the
Fermi level (EF) via a Burstein-Moss shift, EBM, making the system
conducting. The shift gives rise to inter-band optical transitions from the
valence band,

Ev, and from the partially filled conduction band up into the next empty
band, Ec, as well as to intraband transitions within the conduction band, Ei.
 .
3 Electronic Properties of Conventional
TCOs
Conventional n-type TCO hosts (In2O3, SnO2, CdO and ZnO) share similar
chemical, structural and electronic properties. Exclusively oxides of the post
transition metals with (n-1)d10ns2 electronic configurations, they have
densely packed structures with four- or six-coordinate metal ions. Strong
interactions between the oxygen 2p and metal ns orbitals give rise to
electronic band
structures qualitatively similar for all these oxides.Ms–Op interactions result
in a gap between the valence and the conduction bands. In ZnO, the gap is
direct whereas in CdO, In2O3 or SnO2 the valence band maximum is at the L
point ([111]), H point ([1ı11]) or R point ([011]) respectively, giving rise to
an indirect band gap of 0.4 eV, 2.6 eV, 2.7 eV respectively. Table 1 lists the
direct optica lband gaps which are of primary importance for TCO
applications. These values are obtained from the electronicband structure
calculations within screened-exchange local density approximation(sX-LDA)
, which gives good agreement with the reported experimental values(3.5–3.7
eV for In2O3, 2.3 eV for CdO, 3.1–3.6 eV for ZnO and 3.6–4.0 eV forSnO2).
 4.Transparent electronics devices
In order to produce a transparent-electronics-based system,
appropriate materials must be selected, synthesized, processed, and
integrated together in order to fabricate a variety of different types of
devices. In turn, these devices must be chosen, designed, fabricated,
and interconnected in order to construct circuits, each of which has to
be designed, simulated, and built in such a way that they appropriately
function when combined together with other circuit and ancillary non-
circuit subsystems. Thus, this product flow path involves materials →
devices → circuits → systems, with each level of the flow more than
likely involving multi-feedback iterations of selection, design,
simulation, fabrication, integration, characterization, and optimization.
From this perspective, devices constitute a second level of the product
flow path. The multiplicity, performance, cost, manufacturability, and
reliability of available device types will dictate the commercial product
space in which transparent electronics technology will be able to
compete. Passive, linear devices - resistors, capacitors, and inductors
– comprise the first topic discussed. Passive devices are usually not
perceived to be as glamorous as active devices, but they can be
enabling from a circuit system perspective, and they are also the
simplest device types from an operational point-of-view. Together,
these two factors provide the rationale for considering this topic
initially.
Next, two-terminal electronic devices - pn junctions, Schottky barriers,
heterojunctions, and metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) capacitors –
constitute the second major topic. The motivation for this topical
ordering is again associated with their relative operational complexity,
rather than their utility. The third and final major topic addressed is
transistors. This is the most important matter considered in this
chapter. Most of this discussion focuses on TTFTs,since they are
perceived to be the most useful type of transistor for transparent
electronics. Additionally, a very brief overview of alternative transistor
types -static-induction transistors, vertical TFTs, hot electron
transistors, and nano wire transistors - is included. This is motivated
by recognizing the desirability of achieving higher operating
frequencies than are likely obtainable using TTFTs with minimum gate
lengths greater than ~2-10 μm, a probable lower-limit dimensional
constraint for many types of low-cost, large-area
applications.Alternative transistors such as these offer possible routes
for reaching higher operating frequencies, in the context of
transparent electronics.
 5. Passive linear devices
A passive device absorbs energy, in contrast to an active device,
which is capable of controlling the flow of energy (Spencer and
Ghausi 2003). A linear device is distinguished by the fact that its input-
output characteristics are describable using a linear mathematical
relationship. The three passive, linear devices of interest are resistors,
capacitors, and inductors.
 6.Resistors
An ideal resistor is a device whose current-voltage characteristics are
linear, described by Ohm’s Law, and which dissipates power if a
voltage exists across it. A real resistor may not be perfectly linear, i.e.,
precisely obey Ohm’s Law, and may also possess some undesirable
capacitive or inductive parasitic characteristics. Transparent thin-film
resistors (TTFRs) are expected to operate at relatively low
frequencies, so that parasitic inductance is not anticipated to be
relevant. Additionally, TTFRs will most likely be fabricated on
insulating substrates, so that parasitic capacitance should be minimal.
Finally, if properly designed, a TTFR is expected to exhibit linear or
very near-linear behavior. Thus, in most respects, we expect a TTFR
to be adequately modeled as an ideal resistor.The resistance depends
on a material property, namely the resistivity of the TTFR layer, and
the geometry.Given this geometrical constraint, if the current path
length is assumed to be equal to the crosssectional width, i.e., if L =
W, and if a sheet resistance is defined as RS = ρ/t, then the resistance
depends simply on RS and the number of resistor squares in the
ends have the same thickness, which need not always be the case.
Contacts from the resistor ends to other locations on the substrate are
indicated, as is a passivation layer. If the TTFR layer is heavily doped,
e.g., ITO, the passivation layer’s role is merely to provide physical and
chemical protection. However, it is possible that a passivation layer
may actually play an active role in establishing the TTFR resistance if
a highly insulating layer is used in the resistor path and its
conductance is established by creation of a surface accumulation
layer due to the presence of the passivation layer. In this case, the
resistance would not scale with the TTFR thickness, but would be
controlled by the surface
accumulation charge due to interface properties and charge within the
passivation layer. TTFR sheet resistances of ~10-105 Ω should be
possible, using doped TCOs such as ITO or undoped TTFT channel
layers such as ZTO. Thus, a wide range of TTFR resistance is
possible. Two thin-film resistor concerns are the desire to have a small
temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) and resistor tolerance.
Near-zero temperature coefficient of resistance values have been
demonstrated for antimony- doped SnO2, with an appropriate doping
concentration (Maissel and Glang 1970). TTFR resistance tolerance is
expected to be similar to that of conventional thinfilm
resistors, ±10%, unless resistor trimming is performed, in which case
a tolerance of approximately ±0.1% is possible (Glaser and Subak-
Sharpe 1979; Elshabini-Riad and Barlow 1998). It is not clear whether
resistor trimming will be practical in a transparent electronics
technology, given its anticipated low-cost structure. Smooth surfaces
are highly desirable for TTFR applications, suggesting that amorphous
layers would be preferred.
 7. Capacitors
An ideal capacitor is an electric field energy storage device
possessing linear current-voltage derivative (i-dv/dt) characteristics.
In order for this device to be completely transparent,
all of the layers should be transparent. Most insulators are
transparent, so that this constraint mainly applies to the contact
layers, which will most likely be highly conducting TCOs such as ITO.
TTFC capacitance is established by the capacitance density, i.e., the
capacitance per unit area, of the basic capacitance stack, i.e., εS/dI,
and the geometric area of the capacitor layout. Usually a large
capacitance density is desired, in order to minimize the size of a
capacitor. Therefore, a thin insulator with a high dielectric constant
(sometimes referred to as a ‘high-k dielectric’, where ‘k’ denotes the
relative dielectric constant) is best. However, a high-k dielectric
typically has a smaller bandgap, which usually results in a low
breakdown electric field. Although reducing the insulator thickness
also increases the capacitance density, a minimum thickness is
required to avoid pinholes and other types of defects which degrade
the breakdown field and which yield more insulator leakage.
 8.Inductors
An ideal inductor is a magnetic field energy storage device possessing
linear voltage-current derivative (v-di/dt) characteristics.
In contrast to a TTFR and a TTFC, a transparent thin-film inductor
(TTFI) and related transparent magnetically-coupled devices are
expected to behave in a non-ideal manner. Two main reasons underlie
this expectation. First, because of the relatively poor conductance of
TCOs compared to metals, TTFIs will possess a significant amount of
parasitic resistance. Second, efficient magnetic field coupling is
strongly facilitated by the use of a magnetically-permeable insulator.
However, we are not aware of a transparent, magnetically-permeable
insulator material. Thus, realizing high performance TTFIs and related
magneticallycoupled devices is expected to be a challenging task.
The quality factor, Q, is basically an inductor
performance figure-of-merit. A larger Q is better. Thus, since the
parasitic resistance of a TTFI is expected to be large, as a
consequence of employing a TCO instead of a metal, high-Q TTFI’s
are not expected. Obtaining a large inductance, L, requires the
inductor to cover a large area and to possess a large number of turns.
The large-area requirement is not necessarily problematic, since ‘real
estate’ if often ‘free’ in transparentelectronics. However, needing to
have a large number of turns is likely to cause trouble, since having a
large number of turns will increase the inductor parasitic series
resistance, and probably also the inductor parasitic capacitance.
9. Transparent thin-film transistors (TTFTs)
It is a special kind of field-effect transistor made by depositing thin
films of a semiconductor active layer as well as the dielectric layer and
metallic contacts over a supporting substrate. A common substrate is
glass, since the primary application of TFTs is in liquid crystal displays.
This differs from the conventional transistor where the semiconductor
material typically is the substrate, such as a silicon wafer. TTFTs using
TOSs as the channel layer have several merits compared with
conventional Si-TFTs when applied to flat panel displays. These
include the efficient use of backlight in LCDs or emitted light in OLEDs
and insensitivity of device performance to visible light illumination. In
addition, oxide TFTs has potential advantages over semiconductor-
based TFTs in terms of their high voltage gain, heat dissipation, and
radiation tolerances. The TTFTs fabricated to date using conventional
TOSs are SnO2 and ZnO. A single-crystalline film of the TOS
InGaO3(ZnO) is used for the active channel layer to realize
highperformance TTFT devices. This material has advantages over
conventional TOSs, including the efficient growth of high quality,
single-crystalline films and good control of carrier concentration. The
crystal structure of InGaO3(ZnO)m consists of an alternating stack of
InO2- layers and GaO+(ZnO) m blocks make up a super lattice
structure. For fabricating TTFT the RSPE method is used and
producing high quality single crystalline films of InGaO3 (ZNO)5 and
R-SPE is a unique and practical growth method for this
compound.Indinium tin oxide &ZnO are used as interconnection. In
traansparent displays, the device exhibits an on-to-off current ratio of
nearly 106 and a field-effect mobility of nearly 80 square centimeters
per volt per second at room temperature.
 10.Applications
As the oxide semiconductors are wide band gap materials,
transparent TFTs can be easily realized by the combination of
transparent electrodes and insulators. Transparency is one of the
most significant features of TAOS TFTs. As the band gap of a-Si is 1.7
eV and that of crystalline-Si is 1.1 eV, ‘transparent electronics’
cannot be realized in Si technology. In TAOS TFTs, features of high
mobility or low process temperature have attracted a lot of attention.
However, transparency has been underestimated or even neglected in
the research and development of TAOSs. Few examples of actual
applications have been reported exploiting the
transparency of TAOSs until now. Transparent circuits will have
unprecedented applications in flat panel displays and other electronic
devices, such as seethrough display or novel display structures. Here,
practical examples taking advantage of the transparency of TAOS
TFTs are: Reversible Display, ‘Front Drive’ Structure for Color
Electronic Paper, Color Microencapsulated Electrophoretic Display,
Novel Display Structure – Front Drive Structure. Indium oxide
nanowire mesh as well as indium oxide thin films were used to detect
different chemicals, including CWA simulants.
 11.Future Scope
It should be apparent from the discussion that although much
progress has been made in developing new materials and devices for
high performance transparent solar cells, there is still plenty of
opportunity to study and improve device performance and fabrication
techniques compared with the nontransparent solar
cell devices. In particular, the stability of transparency solar cells has
not been studied yet. Solution-processable transparent PSCs have
become a promising emerging technology for tandem solar cell
application to increase energy conversion efficiency. The transparency
of solar cells at a specific light band will also lead to newapplications
such as solar windows. The field of energy harvesting is gaining
momentum by the increases in gasoline price and
environment pollution caused by traditional techniques. Continued
breakthroughs in materials and device performance, accelerate and
establish industrial applications. It is likely that new scientific
discoveries and technological advances will continue to crossfertilize
each other for the foreseeable future.
 12.Conclusion and Remarks
Oxides represent a relatively newclass of semiconductor materials
applied to active devices, such as TFTs. The combination of high field
effect mobility and lowprocessing temperature for oxide
semiconductors makes them attractive for high performance
electronics on flexible plastic substrates. The marriage of two
rapidly evolving areas of research, OLEDs and transparent
electronics, enables the realization of novel transparent OLED
displays. This appealing class of seethrough
devices will have great impact on the human–machine interaction in
the near future. EC device technology for the built environment may
emerge as one of the keys to combating the effects of global warming,
and this novel technology may also serve as an example of the
business opportunities arising from the challenges caused by climate
changes The transparency of solar cells at a specific light band will
also lead to newapplications such as solar windows. The field of
energy harvesting is gaining momentum by the increases in gasoline
price and environment pollution caused by traditional techniques.
 13. References
‘Transparent Electronics ’, Springer publications, J.F.Wager, D. A.
Keszler, R. E. Presley.
‘Transparent electronics: from synthesis to applications’, Wiley
publications: Antonio Facchetti, Tobin J. Marks.
www.wikipedia.org
www.ieee.org
www.sciencemag.org
www.wiley.com