Electrical Transport and Grain Growth in Solution-Cast, Chloride-Terminated Cadmium Selenide Nanocrystal Thin Films

We report the evolution of electrical transport and grain size during the sintering of thin films spin-cast from soluble phosphine and amine-bound, chloride-terminated cadmium selenide nanocrystals. Sintering of the nanocrystals occurs in three distinct stages as the annealing temperature is increased: (1) reversible desorption of the organic ligands (≤150 °C), (2) irreversible particle fusion (200–300 °C), and (3) ripening of the grains to >5 nm domains (>200 °C). Grain growth occurs at 200 °C in films with 8 atom % Cl–, while films with 3 atom % Cl– resist growth until 300 °C. Fused nanocrystalline thin films (grain size = 4.5–5.5 nm) on thermally grown silicon dioxide gate dielectrics produce field-effect transistors with electron mobilities as high as 25 cm2/(Vs) and on/off ratios of 105 with less than 0.5 V hysteresis in threshold voltage without the addition of indium.