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.

The incorporation of copper and oxygen into zinc telluride (ZnTe) thin films deposited by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering from a single ZnTe–CuO composite target was investigated. The nominal Cu and O concentrations ranged from 3 to 13 atom %, and films were grown at substrate temperatures of 300 and 350 °C. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy confirmed controlled compositional transfer from the target to the films. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that all films are polycrystalline, exhibiting a coexistence of zinc blende and wurtzite ZnTe phases. Low dopant concentrations produced only minor lattice modifications, while higher Cu and O contents promoted the formation of Cu _{2− x} Te secondary phases, as confirmed by Raman spectroscopy, grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. Optical measurements showed a significant reduction in infrared transmittance with increasing Cu concentration, attributed to the metallic-like absorption of Cu _{2− x} Te phases. Electrical characterization revealed a transition from semiconducting to highly conductive behavior with resistivity decreasing from approximately 10 ² to 10 ⁻² Ω·cm for films grown at 300 °C and from 10 ¹ to 10 ⁻³ Ω·cm for films grown at 350 °C. Simultaneously, the carrier concentration increased from approximately 10 ¹⁷ to 10 ²¹ cm ⁻³ and the mobility from 10 ⁻¹ to 10 ¹ cm ² ·V ⁻¹ ·s ⁻¹ . These results indicate that structural, optical, and electrical properties of ZnTe are primarily influenced by Cu incorporation and the formation of conductive Cu-rich secondary phases, yielding a biphasic system composed of semiconducting ZnTe and conductive Cu-rich telluride phases. These material properties suggest potential relevance for future studies of back-contact materials in CdTe-based solar cells.

This work investigates the effect of high-energy mechanical milling on the activation and phase transformation of synthetic pseudoboehmite powders. The approach aims to provide a clean, solvent-free route with potential industrial relevance for alumina production. Mechanical processing proved effective in inducing the transition from pseudoboehmite to χ-Al₂O₃ solely through milling. The process yielded nanometric particles with low levels of contamination. The subsequent conversion to α-Al₂O₃ was achieved through controlled heat treatments, while phase evolution was monitored by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). A reduction of approximately 110 °C in the α-Al₂O₃ formation temperature was observed after 30 h of milling. This shift was accompanied by a marked decrease in the activation energy, from 526 kJ·mol⁻¹ for the raw powder to 347 kJ·mol⁻¹ for the milled sample. These results demonstrate the strong mechanochemical activation of pseudoboehmite, highlighting mechanical milling as an effective and scalable route for energy-efficient processing of alumina phases.