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The thickness of the active metal oxide film formed from a barrier-type anodizing process is directly proportional to its formation voltage. The thickness of the consumed portion of the metal film is also corresponding to the formation voltage. This principle can be applied to the thickness test of the metal films. If the metal film is growing on a dielectric substrate, when the metal film is exhausted in an anodizing process, because of the high electrical resistance of the formed oxide film, a sudden increase of the recorded voltage during the anodizing process would occur. Then, the thickness of the metal film can be determined from this voltage. As an example, aluminum films are tested and discussed in this work. This method is quite simple and is easy to perform with high precision.

The feasibility of using Cu/CuMg as a gate electrode for a-Si:H thin-film transistors ͑TFTs͒ has been investigated in this work. The issue of adhesion between the Cu film and glass substrates has been overcome by introducing the Cu/CuMg alloy. Furthermore, a wet-etching process of Cu-based gate metal has been proposed by using the copper etchant in the conventional printed circuit boards. The experimental result showed superior performance of a-Si:H TFT with desired electrode taper angle and minimal loss of critical dimension. The a-Si:H TFT exhibited mobility of 0.37 cm 2 /V s, subthreshold slope of 0.83 V/dec, and V th of 2.02 V.

The effect of the top electrode material on electrical characteristics of Al2O3 thin film capacitors has been investigated. Compared to devices with Pt top electrodes, devices using Al as the top electrode material exhibit a significantly reduced leakage current and a much higher breakdown strength. These electrical characteristics are linked to the anodic oxidation reaction, which makes the capacitors have the capability of self-repairing the defects in a high electric field.

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The feasibility of using Cu/ CuMg as a source/drain metal for the island-in amorphous silicon thin film transistors ͑a-Si: H TFTs͒ has been investigated. The issue of adhesion between the Cu film and n +a-Si layer has been overcome by introducing the Cu/ CuMg alloy. Furthermore, the suppression of Schottky leakage current in metal/a-Si: H structure was also observed in the island-in a-Si: H TFT. The island-in a-Si: H TFT exhibited the mobility of 0.52 cm 2 / V s, the subthreshold slope of 0.78 V / decade, and the V th of 3.02 V. The experimental result also showed superior performance of the a-Si: H TFT with minimal loss of critical dimension and good thermal stability.

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