Selective area crystallization of amorphous silicon films by low-temperature rapid thermal annealing

Abstract

We report the first demonstration of selective area crystallization of amorphous silicon films using low-temperature rapid thermal annealing. Crystallization temperatures as low as 500 °C were achieved with the help of a thermally evaporated ultrathin metal layer. The selective area crystallization was accomplished by using this ultrathin metal layer to define the region to be crystallized. The edge between two regions, that which has been crystallized and that which has not, is found to be very sharp.