Fabrication of polycrystalline silicon thin films on glass substrates using fiber laser crystallization

Laser crystallization of amorphous silicon (a-Si), using a fiber laser of lambda=1064 nm wavelength, was investigated. a-Si films with 50 nm thickness deposited on glass were prepared by a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. The infrared fundamental wave (lambda = 1064 nm) is not absorbed by amorphous silicon (a-Si) films. Thus, different types of capping layers (a-CeOx, a-SiNx, and a-SiOx) with a desired refractive index, n and thickness, d were deposited on the a-Si surface. Crystallization was a function of laser energy density, and was performed using a fiber laser. The structural properties of the crystallized films were measured via Raman spectra, a scanning electron microscope (SEM), and an atomic force microscope (AFM). The relationship between film transmittance and crystallinity was discussed. As the laser energy density increased from 10-40 W, crystallinity increased from 0-90%. However, the higher laser density adversely affected surface roughness and uniformity of the grain size. We found that favorable crystallization and uniformity could be accomplished at the lower energy density of 30 W with a-SiOx as the capping layer. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.