Hewlett-Packard Grows Thin Film Metal-OxideTransistors from ZnO Nanocrystal Seeds

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (Houston, TX) scientists Alfred Pan and Hou T. Ng  developed a thin film semiconductor and a method of its fabrication. They use induced crystallization and aggregation of a nanocrystal seed layer to form a merged-domain layer. The nanocrystal seed layer is deposited onto a substrate surface within a defined boundary. A reaction temperature below a boiling point of a reaction solution is employed. A thin film metal-oxide transistor and a method of its production employ the thin film semiconductor as a channel of the transistor. The merged-domain layer exhibits high carrier mobility.  The fused nanocrystal thin film semiconductor and its manufacturing method are disclosed in United States Patent 7,622,371.  Prefabricated ZnO nanocrystals ranging from just a few to 80 nanometers can be used as seed crystals.  Imprint lithography in conjunction with the  applied barrier layer material can be used to manufacture semiconductor transistors or the barrier layer can applied, patterned and etched using conventional semiconductor fabrication techniques.