Optimizing the Performance of Printed Indium Oxide Thin-Film Transistors through Gallium Incorporation

Mahsa K. Saghafi; Mohana Veerraju Kante; Ramin Shadkam; Evgeniy Boltynjuk; Simon Schweidler; Ben Breitung; Michael Hirtz; Jasmin Aghassi-Hagmann; Gabriel Cadilha Marques

doi:10.1002/pssa.202500294

Optimizing the Performance of Printed Indium Oxide Thin-Film Transistors through Gallium Incorporation

Mahsa K. Saghafi
, Mohana Veerraju Kante
, Ramin Shadkam
, Evgeniy Boltynjuk
, Simon Schweidler
, Ben Breitung
, Michael Hirtz
, Jasmin Aghassi-Hagmann
, Gabriel Cadilha Marques

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

The present study explores the optimization of printed electrolyte-gated field-effect transistors (EGTs) with an indium oxide (In₂O_3-x) channel by introducing gallium into the In₂O_3-x material. Indium oxide (In₂O_3-x) and indium gallium oxide (IGO) nanoparticles are synthesized and formulated into water-based functional inks for printing In₂O_3-x and IGO thin films at room temperature. These thin films are characterized and employed as the semiconductor channel for EGTs. Gallium incorporation shifts the EGT threshold voltage from 0.2 to 0.5 V and reduces the off-current by up to three orders of magnitude depending on the gallium concentration. Shifting the threshold voltage toward positive values while reducing off-currents is essential for designing logic gates in various topologies, such as transistor-resistor logic and transistor-transistor logic, as demonstrated in inverter structures. Prepared inverters using IGO exhibit slightly higher gain and lower power consumption.

Original language	English
Article number	e202500294
Journal	Physica Status Solidi (A) Applications and Materials Science
Volume	222
Issue number	24
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1002/pssa.202500294
State	Published - Dec 2025
Externally published	Yes

Funding

This research was funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) under Germany's Excellence Strategy via the Excellence Cluster “3D Matter Made to Order” (EXC-2082/1-390761711). It has also been supported by the Carl Zeiss Foundation through the “Carl-Zeiss-Foundation-Focus@HEiKA”, the State of Baden-Württemberg, and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). This work was partly carried out with the support of the Karlsruhe Nano Micro Facility (KNMFi, www.knmf.kit.edu), a Helmholtz Research Infrastructure at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT, www.kit.edu). J.A.-H., B.B., and S.S. acknowledge financial support from the KIT via the project Auto.MAP and the Helmholtz Program “Materials Systems Engineering” under program no. 43.31.01. Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL. This research was funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) under Germany's Excellence Strategy via the Excellence Cluster “3D Matter Made to Order” (EXC‐2082/1‐390761711). It has also been supported by the Carl Zeiss Foundation through the “Carl‐Zeiss‐Foundation‐Focus@HEiKA”, the State of Baden‐Württemberg, and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). This work was partly carried out with the support of the Karlsruhe Nano Micro Facility (KNMFi, www.knmf.kit.edu ), a Helmholtz Research Infrastructure at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT, www.kit.edu ). J.A.‐H., B.B., and S.S. acknowledge financial support from the KIT via the project Auto.MAP and the Helmholtz Program “Materials Systems Engineering” under program no. 43.31.01.

Keywords

additive manufacturing
electrolyte-gated field-effect transistors
indium oxide
metal oxide semiconductors
printed electronics

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10.1002/pssa.202500294

Cite this

K. Saghafi, M., Veerraju Kante, M., Shadkam, R., Boltynjuk, E., Schweidler, S., Breitung, B., Hirtz, M., Aghassi-Hagmann, J., & Cadilha Marques, G. (2025). Optimizing the Performance of Printed Indium Oxide Thin-Film Transistors through Gallium Incorporation. Physica Status Solidi (A) Applications and Materials Science, 222(24), Article e202500294. https://doi.org/10.1002/pssa.202500294

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abstract = "The present study explores the optimization of printed electrolyte-gated field-effect transistors (EGTs) with an indium oxide (In2O3-x) channel by introducing gallium into the In2O3-x material. Indium oxide (In2O3-x) and indium gallium oxide (IGO) nanoparticles are synthesized and formulated into water-based functional inks for printing In2O3-x and IGO thin films at room temperature. These thin films are characterized and employed as the semiconductor channel for EGTs. Gallium incorporation shifts the EGT threshold voltage from 0.2 to 0.5 V and reduces the off-current by up to three orders of magnitude depending on the gallium concentration. Shifting the threshold voltage toward positive values while reducing off-currents is essential for designing logic gates in various topologies, such as transistor-resistor logic and transistor-transistor logic, as demonstrated in inverter structures. Prepared inverters using IGO exhibit slightly higher gain and lower power consumption.",

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K. Saghafi, M, Veerraju Kante, M, Shadkam, R, Boltynjuk, E, Schweidler, S, Breitung, B, Hirtz, M, Aghassi-Hagmann, J & Cadilha Marques, G 2025, 'Optimizing the Performance of Printed Indium Oxide Thin-Film Transistors through Gallium Incorporation', Physica Status Solidi (A) Applications and Materials Science, vol. 222, no. 24, e202500294. https://doi.org/10.1002/pssa.202500294

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AU - K. Saghafi, Mahsa

AU - Veerraju Kante, Mohana

AU - Shadkam, Ramin

AU - Boltynjuk, Evgeniy

AU - Schweidler, Simon

AU - Breitung, Ben

AU - Hirtz, Michael

AU - Aghassi-Hagmann, Jasmin

AU - Cadilha Marques, Gabriel

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N2 - The present study explores the optimization of printed electrolyte-gated field-effect transistors (EGTs) with an indium oxide (In2O3-x) channel by introducing gallium into the In2O3-x material. Indium oxide (In2O3-x) and indium gallium oxide (IGO) nanoparticles are synthesized and formulated into water-based functional inks for printing In2O3-x and IGO thin films at room temperature. These thin films are characterized and employed as the semiconductor channel for EGTs. Gallium incorporation shifts the EGT threshold voltage from 0.2 to 0.5 V and reduces the off-current by up to three orders of magnitude depending on the gallium concentration. Shifting the threshold voltage toward positive values while reducing off-currents is essential for designing logic gates in various topologies, such as transistor-resistor logic and transistor-transistor logic, as demonstrated in inverter structures. Prepared inverters using IGO exhibit slightly higher gain and lower power consumption.

AB - The present study explores the optimization of printed electrolyte-gated field-effect transistors (EGTs) with an indium oxide (In2O3-x) channel by introducing gallium into the In2O3-x material. Indium oxide (In2O3-x) and indium gallium oxide (IGO) nanoparticles are synthesized and formulated into water-based functional inks for printing In2O3-x and IGO thin films at room temperature. These thin films are characterized and employed as the semiconductor channel for EGTs. Gallium incorporation shifts the EGT threshold voltage from 0.2 to 0.5 V and reduces the off-current by up to three orders of magnitude depending on the gallium concentration. Shifting the threshold voltage toward positive values while reducing off-currents is essential for designing logic gates in various topologies, such as transistor-resistor logic and transistor-transistor logic, as demonstrated in inverter structures. Prepared inverters using IGO exhibit slightly higher gain and lower power consumption.

KW - additive manufacturing

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KW - indium oxide

KW - metal oxide semiconductors

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Optimizing the Performance of Printed Indium Oxide Thin-Film Transistors through Gallium Incorporation

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