Solution Combustion Synthesis: Applications in Oxide Electronics

Abstract

Oxide-based electronics have been well established as an alternative to silicon technology; however, typical processing requires complex, high-vacuum equipment, which is a major drawback, particularly when targeting low-cost applications. The possibility to deposit the materials by low-cost techniques such as inkjet printing has drawn tremendous interest in solution processible materials for electronic applications; however, high processing temperatures still required. To overcome this issue, solution combustion synthesis has been recently pursued. Taking advantage of the exothermic nature of the reaction as a source of energy for localized heating, the precursor solutions can be converted into oxides at lower process temperatures. Theoretically, this can be applied to any metal ions to produce the desired oxide, opening unlimited possibilities to materials' composition and combinations. Solution combustion synthesis has been applied for the production of semiconductor thin films based on ZnO, In 2 O 3 , SnO 2 and combinations of these oxides, and also for high κ dielectrics (Al 2 O 3 ). All of which are required for numerous electronic devices and applications such as fully oxide-based thin-film transistors (TFTs). The properties of produced thin films are highly dependent on the precursor solution characteristics; hence, the influence of several processing parameters; organic fuel, solvent and annealing temperature was studied. Although precursor solution degradation/oxide formation mechanisms are not yet fully understood, particularly for thin films, we demonstrate that high-performance devices are obtained with combustion solution-based metal oxide thin films. The results clearly show that solution combustion synthesis is becoming one of the most promising methods for low-temperature flexible electronics.

Insight into nanocrystal synthesis: from precursor decomposition to combustion

“…Where the RV/OV ratio is equal to Σ (coefficients of the reducing elements vs. valencies)/ Σ (coefficients of the oxidant elements vs. valences), 18 n is the number of moles of reducer/mole of the oxidant. 72 During calculation, nitrogen and oxygen oxidizer elements should have 0 and −2 valances, respectively. Carbon and hydrogen reducing elements should have +1 and +4 valances and water is not incorporated in this calculation.…”

A Comparison between Solution-Based Synthesis Methods of ZrO2 Nanomaterials for Energy Storage Applications

“…Several studies have reported the production of ZrO 2 nanomaterials using sol-gel, particularly solution combustion synthesis, which is included in the sol-gel method [58][59][60]. Solution combustion synthesis is an attractive technique for the preparation of ZrO 2 nanopowders and thin films, owing to its simplicity, energy and time savings, cost-effectiveness, versatility, higher purity compared with conventional sol-gel methods, low synthesis temperatures, and compatibility with flexible substrates and large scale production [61][62][63].…”

Zirconia: Synthesis and Characterization

“…The metal precursors are the source of the metal cations which decides the final metal oxide. One of the methods for the synthesis of zirconia nanopowders is by annealing stochiometric mixtures of zirconium oxy nitrate hydrate in alcohol and urea [33]. Nanocrystalline zirconium oxide powder has been prepared by the glowing combustion method using sucrose as the fuel and zirconyl nitrate as an oxidant in aqueous solution [34].…”