Thin-Film Transistors for Integrated Circuits: Fundamentals and Recent Progress

High-performance thin-film transistors (TFTs) integrated circuits (ICs) have become increasingly necessary to meet the emerging demands such as healthcare, edge computing, and the Internet of Things, etc. This article aims to point out the potential development trends and bottlenecks of TFT ICs, enhancing their performance in terms of electronic performance, stability, consistency, CMOS design, and manufacturing capability. Basic device structures and overall metrics of TFT ICs are explored, as well as their superiority compared to silicon-based ultrathin chips. Hydrogenated amorphous silicon, low-temperature polycrystalline silicon, and amorphous oxide semiconductors are widely used in displays due to their ability to be deposited on large areas at low processing temperatures and low cost, and are validated in many prototypes for TFT ICs. Their conduction mechanisms, process flows, performance evaluation, and recent advances are comprehensively viewed. In addition, the potential of emerging low-dimensional materials as next-generation channel materials is discussed, along with their limitations and progress in this field. Finally, the major challenges in manufacturing high-performance TFT ICs and future perspectives are summarized. This review explores thin-film transistor integrated circuits (TFT ICs), highlighting their potential for enhancing healthcare, edge computing, and Internet of Things (IoT) applications. It discusses the development of various channel materials, from conventional silicon-based types to amorphous oxide semiconductors and emerging low-dimensional alternatives, and addresses manufacturing challenges and future directions in this field.image