Laser-induced crystallization of silicon islands on amorphous substrates: Multilayer structures

Abstract

We demonstrate the role and utility of lateral heat flow in the growth of single-crystal silicon islands on amorphous substrates. The thermal profile is varied on and around the islands by controlling the optical absorption using various thin-film structures. In this way, competitive nucleation from edges is suppressed and continued in-plane epitaxial zone growth is enhanced. We have succeeded in producing 20-μm-wide single-crystalline islands.