Metal Induced Crystallization Of A-Si Using A Nano-Layer Of Silicon Oxide Mask (Mmic)

A nano-layer of silicon oxide mask with inducing windows was prepared on a-Si. The inducing windows pre-defined the crystalline nucleation positions. The morphology of the resulted MMIC poly-Si depends on the width of the inducing windows, the thickness of silicon oxide outside the inducing windows, and the area density of the nickel inducing medium. Poly-Si composed of continuous zonal domain (CZD) in the same width was obtained under optimal conditions. In this case, metal induced nucleation took place in some isolated sites inside the inducing windows, the crystallization of a-Si proceeded around those isolated nuclei along radial direction inside the inducing windows, and then along radial or lateral direction outside the inducing windows. P-channel CZD poly-Si TFTs exhibited a field effect mobility (mu FE) of -65 cm(2)/V.s, a subthreshold swing (S) of 0.56 V/dec, a threshold voltage (Vth) of -3.5 V, and a ratio of on-state to off-state drain currents of 2.6x10(7). (C) 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim