Electrical and noise properties of thin-film transistors on very thin excimer laser annealed polycrystalline silicon films

Thin-film transistors, fabricated on polycrystalline silicon films prepared by combined solid phase crystallization of amorphous silicon and excimer laser annealing processes, have been investigated by electrical and low frequency noise measurements in relation to the active layer thickness and the laser energy density. The device performance is improved with increasing the laser energy density until a critical value where the film is completely melted. By decreasing the active layer thickness from 50 to 25 nm, although the subthreshold characteristics are improved, the electron mobility and the threshold voltage are degraded. The noise data indicate that the degradation is related to electron trapping in both gate and substrate oxide interface traps. (c) 1999 American Institute of Physics. [S0003-6951(99)04924-4].