Electron Microscopy Study on the Influence of B-implantation on Ni Induced Lateral Crystallization in Amorphous Si1

Nickel Metal Induced Lateral Crystallization (Ni-MILC) emerged as a viable technique for crystallization of a-Si films decreasing the crystallization temperature. Boron (B) implantation on a-Si films significantly enhances the crystallization rate of the Ni-MILC process. The structural characteristics of the implanted by Boron and subsequently crystallized by MILC a-Si films are studied by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and they are compared to intrinsic a-Si films which were deposited on top, as well as beside the boron implanted a-Si film. During the annealing, spontaneous nucleation occurs in the B-doped films far from the a-c interface, revealing a shorter incubation period in the B-doped films.