Low-temperature, ultraviolet-assisted, metal-induced crystallization of silicon on glass

Abstract A UV-assisted metal-induced crystallization technique is reported to grow poly-Si films on glass at temperatures around 400 °C. Samples prepared consist of 150 nm of silicon film deposited on 100 nm silicon nitride and 200 nm of chromium layers, and Ni is used as the seed for crystallization. Annealing in the presence of an ultraviolet exposure leads to a high crystallinity of silicon film as confirmed with XRD, TEM and SEM analyses. Incorporation of the chromium layer in the sample structure has significantly enhanced the crystallization of the film as studied using XRD spectroscopy. Also the result of lateral crystallization with a rate of about 4 μm / h is reported.