Metal Induced Lateral Crystallization of Amorphous Silicon Through a Silicon Nitride Cap Layer

Abstract

We studied a new method of Ni-induced crystallization of amorphous silicon (a-Si) through a silicon-nitride cap layer. A 0.5 nm of Ni layer was deposited on the layers and then this was annealed in a rapid thermal annealing system. The Ni diffused through the cap layer and formed the nuclei. Then, disk-shaped grains were grown from these nuclei. The grain size is between 20 and 90 μm, and the surface roughness of the poly-Si is 0.76 nm, which is smoother than that (0.96 nm) of the poly-Si without a cap layer. © 2002 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.