Tailoring the Ultrathin Al-Induced Crystallization Temperature of Amorphous Si by Application of Interface Thermodynamics

Abstract

It has been demonstrated theoretically and experimentally that the thickness of a very thin, pure Al film put on top of an amorphous Si (a-Si) layer can be used as a very accurate tool to control the crystallization temperature of a-Si. The effect has been explained quantitatively by application of surface-interface thermodynamics. The predictions have been confirmed experimentally by a real-time in situ spectroscopic ellipsometry investigation of the crystallization temperature of a-Si as a function of the thickness of ultrathin Al layers.

Local structures around Mn atoms in MnxSi1-xthin films probed by fluorescence XAFS

“…XAFS data were analyzed by UWXAFS3.0 [15] and USTCXAFS3.0 [16] software packages. It has been known that the crystallization temperature of silicon is 923K [19]. When the growth temperature of Mn x Si 1-x thin films is under this critical temperature during the magnetron cosputtering (550K), the structure of the Si base approaches to be amorphous with large disorder [19].…”

“…It has been known that the crystallization temperature of silicon is 923K [19]. When the growth temperature of Mn x Si 1-x thin films is under this critical temperature during the magnetron cosputtering (550K), the structure of the Si base approaches to be amorphous with large disorder [19]. When the doped Mn content is low, they tend to homogeneously separate into Si matrix, and randomly substitute the host atoms in the Si network on the substrate, close to those of Gd-doped Si with amorphous structure [20].…”

Kinetics of silicide formation over a wide range of heating rates spanning six orders of magnitude

“…The crystallization of a-Si is catalyzed by the presence of the Pd 2 Si phase and therefore occurs at lower temperatures than expected for pure Si, in agreement with many previous reports. 24,25 According to the kinetic model, the crystallization of a-Si and the vertical growth of Pd 2 Si are fully overlapped [inset of Figure 1(a) and supplementary material].…”

Fundamentals of Metal‐induced Crystallization of Amorphous Semiconductors

“…Another fabrication technique is the so-called metal-induced crystallization (MIC), which involves that the temperature for crystallization of a-Si is greatly reduced if it is put into direct contact with a metal, such as Al, Ni, Cu, or Au. [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] As shown in Figure 1, depending on the contacted metal, the crystallization temperature of a-Si can be reduced to temperatures in the range of 500 8C to even only 150 8C. The lower limit for the crystallization temperature (T cryst ) in particular occurs for a-Si in contact with Al.…”