Nickel-disilicide-assisted excimer laser crystallization of amorphous silicon

Polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) thin film has been prepared by means of nickel-disilicide (NiSi_2) assisted excimer laser crystallization (ELC). The process to prepare a sample includes two steps. One step consists of the formation of NiSi_2 precipitates by heat-treating the dehydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si) coated with a thin layer of Ni. And the other step consists of the formation of poly-Si grains by means of ELC. According to the test results of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), another grain growth model named two-interface grain growth has been proposed to contrast with the conventional Ni-metal-induced lateral crystallization (Ni-MILC) model and the ELC model. That is, an additional grain growth interface other than that in conventional ELC is formed, which consists of NiSi_2 precipitates and a-Si. The processes for grain growth according to various excimer laser energy densities delivered to the a-Si film have been discussed. It is discovered that grains with needle shape and most of a uniform orientation are formed which grow up with NiSi_2 precipitates as seeds. The reason for the formation of such grains which are different from that of Ni-MILC without migration of Ni atoms is not clear. Our model and analysis point out a method to prepare grains with needle shape and mostly of a uniform orientation. If such grains are utilized to make thin-film transistor, its characteristics may be improved.