Crystallization of Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon Thin Films Using Combined Continuous Wave Laser and Thermal Annealing

Abstract

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) lms were deposited using the plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) process on Corning glass substrates. An aluminum overcoat was deposited on the lms. The specimens were irradiated with a continuous wave Ar + laser beam of varying power density and duration. The samples were then annealed at 250 o C for 15 minutes to convert the amorphous silicon into polysilicon lm. The grain size of the polycrystalline silicon lms varies by varying the laser power density and the exposure time. The polysilicon grains acquired diameters ranging from 0.4 to 1.25 µm when the laser power density was set between 74.7 W/cm 2 and 94.3 W/cm 2 . The grains with a size ranging between 1 and 2.5 µm showed plate-like and dendritic-like con gurations when laser power densities changed between 31.4 and 74.7 W/cm 2 . The XRD analysis revealed polycrystalline silicon with expected relative strengths.