System Building, Two Ways: Development and Application of ZnO TFT Technology in Large-Area Hybrid Sensing Systems

Abstract

In this thesis, we provide a material-based approach to mitigating a perennial problem in large-scale hybrid sensing systems.

While the purpose of these sensing systems is varied, the foundational belief of this work is that signals from the physical world have inherent value, and so long as the infrastruc- ture for capturing this data can be built efficiently and scalably, new applications will flow freely. This work focuses on enabling the construction of robust sensing system infrastruc- tures from the bottom up, starting with development of a deposition system for growth of thin-film metal oxides, moving next to material, device, and thin-film circuit development and characterization, and concluding with a new system architecture for highly-scalable large-scale sensing systems and system demonstration, using zinc-oxide thin-film transistor circuits.