Low temperature solid phase crystallization of amorphous silicon thin film by crystalline activation

We have investigated the effects of crystalline activation on solid phase crystallization (SPC) of amorphous silicon (a-Si) thin films. Wet blasting and self ion implantation were employed as the activation treatments to induce macro or micro crystalline damages on deposited a-Si films. Low temperature and larger grain crystallization were obtained by the applied two-step activation. High degree of crystallinity was also observed on both furnace and rapid SPC. crystalline activations showed the promotion of nucleation on the activated regions and the retardation of growth in an amorphous matrix in SPC. The observed behavior of two-step SPC was strongly dependent on the applied activation and annealing processes. It was also found that the diversified effects by macro and micro activations on the SPC were virtually diminished as the annealing temperature increased.