Embodiments described herein provide thin film transistors (TFTs) and processes to reduce plasma induced damage in TFTs. In one embodiment, a buffer layer is disposed over a substrate and a semiconductor layer is disposed over the buffer layer. A gate dielectric layer is disposed over the semiconductor layer. The gate dielectric layer contacts the semiconductor layer at an interface. The gate electrode 204 is disposed over the gate dielectric layer. The gate dielectric layer has a Dit of about 5e10 cm−2eV−1 to about 5e11 cm−2eV−1 and a hysteresis of about 0.10 V to about 0.30 V improve performance capability of the TFT while having a breakdown field between about 6 MV/cm and about 10 MV/cm.