Large Polycrystalline Silicon Grains Prepared by Excimer Laser Crystallization of Sputtered Amorphous Silicon Film with Process Temperature at 100 °C

Abstract

Large polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) grains with a diameter of 1.8 µm are successfully prepared by excimer laser crystallization (ELC) of a sputtered amorphous silicon (α-Si) film at a maximum process temperature of 100 °C. By pulsed DC magnetron sputtering, α-Si is deposited on a non-structured oxidized wafer. It is found that the α-Si film deposited with a bias is easily ablated during ELC, even at an energy density below the super lateral growth (SLG) region. However, the α-Si film deposited without a bias can endure an energy density well beyond the SLG region without ablation. This zero-bias sputtered α-Si film with a high compressive stress has a low Ar content and a high density, which is beneficial for the suppression of ablation. Large grains with a petal-like shape can be obtained in a wide energy density window, which can be a result from some fine crystallites in the α-Si matrix. These large grains with a low process temperature are promising for the direct formation of system circuits as well as a high-quality display on a plastic foil.