Single-crystal thin-film transistors on nonrefractory materials such as glass can be realized if monocrystalline islands of sufficient sizes can be grown at a predetermined position. By artificially controlling the super-lateral growth phenomenon observed in excimer-laser crystallization, this could be achieved. In this letter, we present such a method in which the silicon filling of a very small indentation fabricated in the substrate will act as a seed for lateral growth of large grains. When the melt is deep in these indentations, lateral growth is preceded by a vertical growth phase during which grains become occluded, so that a high yield of monocrystalline islands is obtained.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.