Aluminum induced crystallization of amorphous Si: Thermal annealing and ion irradiation process

An assessment on crystallization phenomena of Si in Al/a-Si thin films via thermal annealing and ion irradiation

“…The nucleation and growth of the c-Si phase under thermal annealing condition can be understood on the basis of diffusion and sufficient availability of Si atoms along the Al grain boundaries at different temperatures. [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]40 In present investigation, we have observed that the crystallization of a-Si is initiated at around 200 C and the crystalline volume fraction increases further with increasing temperature up to 500 C due to increased supply of Si atoms around Al grain boundaries from the underlying a-Si layer. [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] These suggest that the diffusion of Si atoms in Al is activated at around 200 C because of very high (many orders of magnitude) diffusion constant of Si in Al compared to the diffusion constant of Al in Si.…”

“…[29][30][31][32][33][34][35] Therefore, under SHI irradiation, the crystallization of amorphous semiconductor is possible in a controlled manner because of mixing due to diffusion of metal and free semiconductor atoms in the bulk as well as to the interface. 33,[36][37][38][39] In our recent publication, 40 SHI irradiation process has been successfully demonstrated for the rst time on the crystallization of Si in presence of Al at a very low temperature of 100 C. However, the impact of different parameters such as thickness ratio of Al/a-Si bilayer system, temperatures during ion irradiation, and some others parameters on crystallization of Si in Al/a-Si thin lm using ion irradiation is lacking.…”

Micro‐morphological investigations on wettability of Al‐incorporated c‐Si thin films using statistical surface roughness parameters

“…In order to prepare c‐Al/ a ‐Si interface, 50‐nm thin Al films were deposited on the top of a ‐Si films using thermal evaporation without breaking the vacuum. The as‐prepared Al (50 nm)/ a ‐Si (150 nm) bilayer films were then irradiated at a temperature of 100°C by 100 ‐MeV Ni +7 ions with different fluences of 1 × 10 12 ions‐cm −2 , 5 × 10 12 ions‐cm −2 , 1 × 10 13 ions‐cm −2 , and 5 × 10 13 ions‐cm −2 using 15 UD Pelletron accelerator facility of Inter University Accelerator Center (IUAC), New Delhi, after estimating the range of ions by Stopping and Range of Ions in Matter (SRIM) simulation code 28–31 . The ion irradiation resulted the crystallization of Si in bilayer films and the top unreacted Al layer were chemically etched off by wet selective etching using “Aluminum Etchant‐Type A” (Sigma‐Aldrich) solution.…”

“…In order to obtain this absorber layer, the as‐prepared c ‐Al (50 nm)/ a ‐Si (150 nm) (i.e., pristine) thin films are irradiated at a temperature of 100°C using 100‐MeV Ni +7 ions with the fluences of 1 × 10 12 ions‐cm −2 , 5 × 10 12 ions‐cm −2 , 1 × 10 13 ions‐cm −2 , and 5 × 10 13 ions‐cm −2 . The ion irradiation on c ‐Al (50 nm)/ a ‐Si (150 nm) leads to the crystallization of Si in bilayer film 28–30 . In order to expose the absorber layer, remaining Al from the top layer of the bilayer samples is selectively etched‐off.…”

Индий-Индуцированная Кристаллизация Тонких Пленок Аморфного Субоксида Кремния

“…На данный момент тонкие пленки поликристаллического кремния (poly-Si) на дешевых подложках из несобственного материала, например стекла, находят широкое применение в производстве полупроводниковых приборов большой площади, таких как солнечные элементы и тонкопленочные транзисторы [1,2]. Наиболее распространенными способами получения тонких пленок poly-Si на нетугоплавких подложках из несобственного материала являются методы твердофазной кристаллизации (solid phase crystallization, SPC) [3], жидкофазной кристаллизации (liquid phase crystallization, LPC) [4] и металлоиндуцированной кристаллизации (metal-induced crystallization, MIC) [1] аморфного кремния (a-Si). Метод MIC основан на использовании различных металлов (алюминия, золота, никеля) [5], индуцирующих кристаллизацию a-Si в процессе изотермического отжига.…”