Influence of laser crystallization on the hydrogen density-of-states distribution

Abstract Hydrogen bonding in laser crystallized polycrystalline silicon is investigated using H effusion measurements. Completely crystallized specimens exhibit a residual hydrogen concentration of up to 8 × 10 21 cm −3 . From the effusion spectra, the hydrogen density-of-states (H DOS) distribution is derived. In fully crystallized poly-Si four peaks are observed at −2.15, −2.4, −2.7, and −3.25 eV. Interestingly, the deposition temperature of the amorphous starting material influences hydrogen bonding in the laser crystallized poly-Si samples. With increasing deposition temperature, the peaks in the H DOS become more pronounced and considerably more H is accommodated in complexes with larger binding energies.