A Novel Structural Design Serving as a Stress Relief Layer for Flexible LTPS TFTs

Abstract

In this work a novel device structure aiming to suppress the degradations under bending in flexible devices is demonstrated, named as a wing-shape TFT. Investigations of the electrical characteristics and reliabilities are supported by simulations, theoretical calculations, and structural discussions. First, through both electrical and mechanical stress simulation, the regions of degradation are confirmed to occur at the corner of the gate insulator. After long term mechanical stress, behaviors including an abnormal hump, serious threshold voltage (Vth) shifts, on-current increase, and off-current decrease are observed. By extending the active layer, also serving as a stress relief layer, removes the degradation regions away from the main channel. Therefore, the reliability of the devices is dramatically improved. The geometries of the wings in wing-shape TFTs are also in consideration. From results, with different wing lengths, a similar improvement of the reliability is shown, but the on current is enhanced when the wing length is extended. These phenomena are realized as a result of the difference in the effective width. The proposed wing-shape LTPS TFT has its potential and benefits for future flexible displays.