Continuous-Wave Laser Lateral Crystallization of A-Si Thin Films on Polyimide Using a Heatsink Layer Embedded in the Buffer SiO2

• Published in: Journal of electronic materials 2021-06, Vol.50 (6), p.2974-2980
• Main Authors: Sasaki, Nobuo, Arif, Muhammad, Uraoka, Yukiharu, Gotoh, Jun, Sugimoto, Shigeto
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 62nd Electronic Materials Conference 2020; Amorphous silicon; Buffer layers; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry and Materials Science; Continuous wave lasers; Crystallization; Electronics and Microelectronics; Glass substrates; Heat sinks; Instrumentation; Materials Science; Optical and Electronic Materials; Photovoltaic cells; Room temperature; Silicon dioxide; Solid State Physics; Thickness; Thin films; Topical Collection: 62nd Electronic Materials Conference 2020
• ISSN: 0361-5235; 1543-186X
• DOI: 10.1007/s11664-021-08751-9

Continuous-wave laser crystallization of amorphous Si (a-Si) thin films on a polyimide (PI)-coated glass substrate is studied by using a single scan of a highly uniform top-flat line-beam with a 123 nm SiO 2 cap layer and a thin buffer layer at room temperature in air. The total buffer layer thickness is reduced to as thin as 1.55  μ m including the heatsink a-Si layer and two SiO 2 layers. Damage to the polyimide during the crystallization is successfully suppressed by the heatsink layer. An 88.3% {100} surface fraction is obtained for a 60-nm-thick Si thin film within 15° on polyimide even with a low scan velocity of 15 mm/s.