Leakage Current Mechanism of Thin-Film Diode for Active-Matrix Liquid Crystal Displays

The origin of image-sticking in metal-insulator-metal type thin-film diode liquid crystal displays(TFD-LCDs) is the asymmetric current-voltage(I-V) characteristic of TFD element. We developed that TFD-LCDs have reduced-image-sticking. Tantalum pentoxide(Ta$_2$O$\sub$5/) is a candidate for use in metal-insulator-metal(MIM) capacitors in switching devices for active-matrix liquid crystal displays(AM-LCDs). High quality Ta$_2$O$\sub$5/ thin films have been obtained from anodizing method. We fabricated a TFD element using Ta$_2$O$\sub$5/ films which had perfect current-voltage symmetry characteristics. We applied novel process technologies which were postannealed whole TFD element instead of conventional annealing to the fabrication. One-Time Post-Annealing(OPTA) heat treatment process was introduced to reduce the asymmetry and shift of the I-V characteristics, respectively. OPTA means that the whole layers of lower metal, insulator, and upper metal are annealed at one time. Futhermore, in this paper, we discussed the effects of top-electrode metals and annealing conditions.