On the Controlling Mechanism of Preferential Orientation of Polycrystalline-Silicon Thin Films Grown by Aluminum-Induced Crystallization

We investigated the controlling mechanism of preferential orientation in polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) on glass substrate by Al-induced crystallization using an in situ monitoring system and electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) measurements. Poly-Si film with (111)-preferential orientation...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inApplied physics express Vol. 3; no. 9; pp. 095803 - 095803-3
Main Authors Jung, Mina, Okada, Atsushi, Saito, Takanobu, Suemasu, Takashi, Usami, Noritaka
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published The Japan Society of Applied Physics 01.09.2010
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Summary:We investigated the controlling mechanism of preferential orientation in polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) on glass substrate by Al-induced crystallization using an in situ monitoring system and electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) measurements. Poly-Si film with (111)-preferential orientation was obtained by the layer exchange of the initial amorphous silicon (a-Si)/Al/glass into Al/poly-Si/glass. Cross-sectional EBSD revealed that Al crystal grains are much smaller than those of Si, and randomly oriented without any epitaxial relationship between (111)-oriented Si despite the fact that (111)-oriented Si is believed to originate from epitaxial growth on $\gamma$-Al 2 O 3 /Al(111). This suggests that another mechanism such as minimization of surface energy affects the formation of (111)-oriented poly-Si.
Bibliography:Optical micrographs of glass/poly-Si (+Al) for different an nealing times (a) 95, (b) 129, (c) 192, and (d) 236 min at 500 °C for 8 h. The black line of (d) indicates the poly-Si grain. The crystallized fraction and average radius versus annealing time are shown in (e). In-plane EBSD images of samples: (a) sample A: 500 °C, 8 h, (b) sample B: 500 °C, 4 h, (c) sample C: 525 °C, 4 h, and (d) sample D: 550 °C, 4 h. The black lines of (a--d) mean the poly-Si grain. (a) Cross-sectional SEM image of sample A and (b) EBSD orientation mapping of the same region in (a).
ISSN:1882-0778
1882-0786
DOI:10.1143/APEX.3.095803