Solution Processable Metal Oxide Thin Film Deposition and Material Growth for Electronic and Photonic Devices
A comprehensive review of recent advances in solution processing and growth of metal oxide thin films for electronic and photonic devices is presented, with specific focus on precise solution based technological coatings for electronics and optics, and new concepts for oxide material growth for electrochemical, catalytic, energy storage and conversion systems, information technology, semiconductor device processing and related devices. Throughout, the nature of the soluble precursors solutions and their relationship to film formation process by various solution coating techniques are collated and compared, highlighting advantages in precursor design for creating complex oxides for devices. Because of the versatility of solution processable oxides and functional material coating, it is important to capture the advances made in oxide deposition for plastic electronics, see through and wearable devices, and high fidelity thin film transistors on curved or flexible displays. Solution processing, even for oxides, allows control over composition, thickness, optical constants, porosity, doping, tunable optical absorbance/transmission, band structure engineering, 3D substrate coating, complex composite oxide formation and multi layered oxide systems that are more difficult to achieve using chemical vapor deposition (CVD) or atomic layer deposition (ALD) processes. We also discuss limitations of solution processing for some technologies and comment on the future of solution based processing of metal oxide materials for electronics, photonics and other technologies.