Influences of Various Metal Elements on Field Aided Lateral Crystallization of Amorphous Silicon Films

Abstract

In this study, the effects of various metals on field aided lateral crystallization (FALC) behaviors of amorphous silicon (a-Si) were investigated. Under the influence of the electric field, some metals such as Cu, Ni and Co were found to induce the lateral crystallization toward the metal-free region while Au, Al and Cr were not able to induce the crystallization of a-Si. On the other hand, the effect of the electric field on the lateral crystallization was not obvious for Pd. These phenomenological differences could be interpreted in terms of the dominant diffusing species (DDS) in the reaction between the metal and Si. It is judged that the applied electric field can enhance the crystallization velocity by accelerating the diffusion of metal atoms because the occurrence of lateral crystallization is known to rely on the diffusion of metal atoms than that of Si atoms. Therefore, it is thought that the only metal-dominant diffusing species in the reaction between metal and Si can strongly result in the crystallization of a-Si in metal-free region.