Lateral Solid Phase Epitaxy of Amorphous Si Films under Ultrahigh Pressure

Abstract

The effect of hydrostatic pressure on the lateral solid phase epitaxy (L-SPE) of amorphous Si (a-Si) films has been investigated. It has been found from the annealing experiment under ultrahigh pressure up to 2 GPa (20 kbar) that both the L-SPE growth rate and the nucleation rate of polycrystalline grains are increased with increase in pressure, when uncoated a-Si films are used. It has also been found that the nucleation rate is decreased and a greater L-SPE length can be achieved when a-Si films are coated with SiO2 films prior to L-SPE.