We fabricated all solution based In ₂ O ₃ TFTs with AlO _x –PVP and HfAlO _x –PVP hybrid dielectric layers and observed the reduction of hysteresis by incorporation of HfO _x into the pristine AlO _x –PVP hybrid dielectric with enhanced electrical performance.

In this letter, we fabricated cadmium sulfide (CdS)-based hybrid thin-film transistors (TFTs) using Poly(vinylphenol) (PVP) as the polymer dielectric gate. The synthesis of PVP crosslinked with trimethoxy propyl silane was made by solution processing, and the films were deposited by a dip-coating technique. The PVP films were cured at 200 °C after deposition, which was the highest temperature for the devices processing. The CdS films were deposited at room temperature using a UV photo-assisted chemical bath deposition technique. These dielectric layers have low leakage current density (10 ^-8 A/cm ² ) and a high dielectric constant of 4.7 at 1 kHz. The TFTs exhibited superior performance with a low threshold voltage of 0.3 V, ION/OFF current ratio of 105, subthreshold slope 0.25 V/dec, and a high mobility 36.1 cm ² V ^-1 s ^-1 at operating voltages less than 3 V.

Herein, we fabricated CdSe-based thin-film transistors (TFTs) employing two different hybrid dielectric gates, SiO ₂ –poly(vinylphenol) and Al ₂ O ₃ –3-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane–polymethylmethacrylate. These organic–inorganic hybrid dielectric layers were processed by the sol-gel method at low temperatures (<200 °C), and the CdSe semiconductor layer was deposited by R.F sputtering at room temperature. The chemical and physical properties of the hybrid thin films were thoroughly evaluated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscope, atomic force microscopy and surface energy analysis. The results have shown an adequate interaction between both organic and inorganic phases in the hybrid material and the obtained hybrid thin films are very homogeneous with low surface roughness. Further, the dielectric properties of these hybrid thin films showed salient features with similar leakage currents for both dielectrics of the order of 10 ⁻⁶ A cm ⁻² , and dielectric constants of 7 and 11 at 1 kHz for the silica and alumina based dielectrics, respectively. The higher dielectric constant of the alumina hybrid dielectric is associated to excessive oxygen defects such as hydroxyl groups (OH) and oxygen vacancies (V _o ), which produce high dielectric loss through hopping relaxation. To investigate the feasibility of these two hybrids as dielectric gate layers we constructed TFTs with CdSe as active channel layer. Among these, TFTs fabricated with silica hybrid dielectric showed the best performance with a current off/on ratio of 10 ⁴ , threshold voltage of 1.1 V and mobility of 22.2 cm ² V ⁻¹ s ⁻¹ . Meanwhile, the TFT device with alumina hybrid as dielectric gate layer exhibited a diminished electrical performance in terms of lower mobilities, which is mostly related to the defects at the dielectric/semiconductor interface. These defects manifested as well in the capacitance measurements of the alumina hybrid dielectric and have a strong influence on the device mobility since the charge carriers traps restrict the electrical transport in the semiconductor channel.

Crystalline silicon (c-Si) photovoltaics dominate the solar industry, yet further advancements hinge on passivating and carrier-selective contacts to overcome efficiency limitations. This review explores the pivotal role of atomic layer deposition (ALD) in enabling metal oxide films for high-performance c-Si solar cells, bridging material innovation with industrial scalability. Historically, ALD-grown Al2O3 enabled the effective passivation of p-type Si surfaces via its high negative fixed charge, which made localized rear contacts viable and facilitated the transition from aluminum back surface field to passivated emitter rear contact architectures, ultimately lowering J0 and boosting efficiency. However, emerging carrier-selective contacts demand materials that simultaneously minimize recombination and resistive losses while avoiding parasitic absorption. Metal oxides, leveraging tunable optoelectronic properties and ALD's atomic-scale precision, offer a promising alternative to conventional silicon-based films (e.g., a-Si:H and poly-Si). We analyzed 373 studies to map trends in ALD metal oxide applications, highlighting the dominance of Al2O3 and TiO2, alongside growing interest in multi-metal oxides. The review underscores ALD's unique ability to tailor chemical and field-effect passivation mechanisms while addressing challenges in stoichiometric control and interfacial engineering. Targeting both ALD specialists and PV engineers, we propose standardized metrics for evaluating passivating contacts, aiming to accelerate cross-disciplinary innovation. Finally, we outline future opportunities for ALD-derived metal oxide in next-generation photovoltaics, including tandem and thin-film technologies, advocating for systematic research to unlock their full potential.

The development of flexible thin-film transistors (TFTs) is crucial for the advancement of wearable electronics, bendable displays, and the Internet of Things (IoT). A key challenge in this field is the fabrication of high-performance gate dielectric layers that combine excellent electrical properties with mechanical robustness and low-temperature processability. In this work, we report flexible TFTs based on CdS and hybrid PVPh/PMMA-ZrO₂ as semiconductor and gate dielectric layers, respectively. The hybrid gate dielectric films were deposited on flexible PEN substrates via a facile spin-coating process at a low temperature of 150 °C. On the other hand, CdS layers were deposited through photo-assisted chemical bath deposition at room temperature. Both correspond to deposition methods in solutions, fulfilling the low-temperature condition. The electrical properties of the hybrid gate dielectric layers were characterized by using metal–insulator–metal (MIM) capacitors, which presented excellent insulating properties, low leakage current density and suitable gate capacitance for transistor operation. From the analysis of the electrical response of flexible TFTs, reliable device characteristics and key electrical metrics were extracted. Furthermore, the MIM and TFTs were tested under mechanical bending, demonstrating stable performance. The MIM capacitors showed outstanding mechanical stability, retaining low leakage and stable capacitance after 1000 bending cycles, with changes attributed to reversible interfacial charge redistribution rather than bulk degradation. Meanwhile the TFTs kept full electrical functionality under repeated bending and tight bending radii (down to 0.6 cm), demonstrating reasonable mechanical durability. These results validate the solution-processed PVPh/PMMA-ZrO₂/CdS system as a promising, mechanically robust platform for flexible electronics.