Aluminium Induced Crystallization of Amorphous Silicon via Solution Derived Catalyst

Abstract

In this paper, aluminum induced crystallization (AIC) was studied by examining the effect of using solution derived AlCl3 catalyst. Such catalyst preparation method offers possibility of low-cost, non-vacuum solution process and allows examination of the role of alumina on the AIC process. The deposited AIC films were examined by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and four probe measurements. It was found that AIC process is highly dependent on annealing temperature and can occur at annealing temperatures above 500°C through Al2O3 formation. Based on the presented data, a possible growth model is proposed to clarify AIC mechanism.