"Subthreshold Broadening in Thin Film Transistors through Patterned Gate Electrostatics for Low Power and Sensing Applications"

"Thin Film Transistors (TFTs) are a key building block of large area electronics, where they serve in displays, sensors and flexible circuits. Subthreshold operation in TFTs is particularly relevant for sensor interfaces and low-power systems because of its exponential current\u2013voltage dependence and high sensitivity to external perturbations. However, conventional planar gate TFTs restrict the usable subthreshold region due to limited electrostatic control, narrowing the operational bias window for sensing. In this work, we demonstrate that corrugated gate TFTs, studied through both TCAD simulations and fabricated prototypes, exhibit a substantially broadened subthreshold region. The corrugated geometry modifies gate to channel electrostatics, leading to threshold voltage shifts and extended subthreshold conduction compared to planar devices. Measurements show that the fabricated corrugated devices exhibited a nearly fivefold extension of the subthreshold region. These findings highlight corrugated gate engineering as a viable route to low-power and high sensitivity TFT based sensors in large area electronic platforms."