Inkjet printing of nickel nanosized particles for metal-induced crystallization of amorphous silicon

We demonstrated for the first time single-crystal grain growth in the solid-phase crystallization of amorphous silicon (a-Si) film induced by inkjet-printed colloidal solution containing Ni nanosized particles. The electrostatic inkjet nozzle with a needle can print dots of Ni colloidal solution, whose size ranges from submicron order to a few ten micrometers, on the a-Si film surface by controlling the needle apex radius and the number of applied voltage pulses. The dependence of the crystallization behavior of a-Si on dot size is investigated by electron backscattering pattern (EBSP) analysis. Crystallization behavior is categorized into three modes: single-crystal growth, polycrystal growth, and lateral-crystal growth. Statistical analysis suggests that, when the dot size is 0.86 μm in diameter, a single-crystal grain is grown at the inkjet-printed sites with a probability of 0.62.