Liquid-phase explosive crystallization of electron-beam-evaporated a-Si films induced by flash lamp annealing

• Published in: Journal of crystal growth 2013-01, Vol.362, p.149-152
• Main Authors: Ohdaira, Keisuke, Matsumura, Hideki
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: A1. Recrystallization; A1. Stresses; A1. X-ray diffraction; A3. Liquid phase epitaxy; Annealing; B2. Semiconducting silicon; B3. Solar cells; Chemical vapor deposition (including plasma-enhanced cvd, mocvd, etc.); Condensed matter: structure, mechanical and thermal properties; Convergent-beam electron diffraction, selected-area electron diffraction, nanodiffraction; Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science; rheology; Crystallization; Deposition by sputtering; Electron diffraction and scattering; Exact sciences and technology; Explosions; Explosive forming; Flash lamps; Grains; Liquid phase epitaxy; deposition from liquid phases (melts, solutions, and surface layers on liquids); Materials science; Methods of deposition of films and coatings; film growth and epitaxy; Physics; Precursors; Silicon; Structure of solids and liquids; crystallography
• ISSN: 0022-0248; 1873-5002
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jcrysgro.2011.11.028

We succeed in the formation of micrometer-order-thick polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) films through the flash-lamp-induced liquid-phase explosive crystallization (EC) of precursor a-Si films prepared by electron-beam (EB) evaporation. The velocity of the explosive crystallization (vEC) is estimated to be ∼14m/s, which is close to the velocity of the liquid-phase epitaxy (LPE) of Si at a temperature around the melting point of a-Si of 1418K. Poly-Si films formed have micrometer-order-long grains stretched along a lateral crystallization direction, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) and electron diffraction pattern measurements reveal that grains in poly-Si films tend to have a particular orientation. These features are significantly different from our previous results: the formation of poly-Si films containing randomly-oriented 10-nm-sized fine grains formed from a-Si films prepared by catalytic chemical vapor deposition (Cat-CVD) or sputtering. One possible reason for the emergence of a different EC mode in EB-evaporated a-Si films is the suppression of solid-phase nucleation (SPN) during Flash Lamp Annealing (FLA) due to tensile stress which precursor a-Si films originally hold. Poly-Si films formed from EB-evaporated a-Si films would contribute to the realization of high-efficiency thin-film poly-Si solar cells because of large and oriented grains. ► 3μm-thick poly-Si films are formed by FLA through liquid-phase EC of a-Si films. ► Use of EB-evaporated a-Si films enable to induce the liquid-phase EC. ► EC speed is ∼14m/s, close to LPE speed at the melting point of a-Si. ► Grains in poly-Si films formed have a particular orientation. ► Tensile stress in EB a-Si films can be a reason of the emergence of liquid-phase EC.