Low temperature solid phase crystallization of amorphous silicon at 380 °C

Abstract

Amorphous silicon (a-Si) was crystallized by metal induced crystallization (MIC) in an electric field. A 2 nm Ni layer on a-Si was used for the crystallization. The MIC temperature can be reduced to 380 °C in an electric field of 360 V/cm. The Ni-MIC poly-Si has a crystalline volume fraction of 92% with an average grain size of ∼150 nm. The fact that the crystallization temperature can be reduced appears to be due to the enhancement of NiSi2 migration through a-Si in an electric field.