Electric field effect on the metal induced crystallization of amorphous silicon

A noble technique for low temperature crystallization of amorphous silicon, called field aided lateral crystallization(FALC) was attempted for the first time. To demonstrate the concept of FALC, thin layer of nickel(30 Angstrom) was deposited on top of amorphous silicon film and the electric field was applied during the crystallization. The effects of electric field on the crystallization behavior of amorphous silicon film were investigated. Nickel silicide which is known to be a key species for the low temperature crystallization was driven by an electric field, as expected. As a result, the crystallization velocity of FALC was much faster than that of conventional crystallization methods. As the electric field increased, the crystallization velocity also increased in the range of investigation. FALC also showed the directionality in crystallization depending on the polarity of the electric field. Crystallization velocity at the negative electrode was about one order faster than that at the positive electrode.