Impact of rapid crystallization of Si using nickel-metal-induced lateral crystallization on thin-film transistor characteristics

Metal-induced lateral crystallization (MILC) of amorphous Si using a nickel disilicide catalyst at temperatures up to 770 °C is investigated to produce high-quality polycrystalline Si films in a short period, while 670 °C is the maximum temperature allowed for processing using non alkaline glass substrates. Investigation of crystallization kinetics by isothermal annealing experiments provides activation energy values of 2.3 and 3.6 eV for MILC growth and spontaneous nucleation of amorphous Si, respectively. These values indicate that a MILC region of about 30 μm, which is large enough to place transistor circuits, can be grown by annealing for 15 min at 670 °C, which almost agrees with experimental results. N-channel thin-film transistors are fabricated on MILC films. An average carrier mobility of about 200 cm ²· V ^-1·s ^-1 is obtained from the MILC film crystallized at 670°C.