Effect of dopant on metal induced lateral crystallization rate

In this study, we examined the effects of dopants, the quality of the Si thin film, and annealing conditions on the metal-induced lateral crystallization (MILC) phenomenon. When amorphous Si was doped with phosphorus, MILC barely occurred. Low-pressure chemical vapor deposition boron doped Si crystallized without Ni at 550 °C. Under other conditions, MILC rate of plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) boron doped Si was higher than that of PECVD intrinsic Si. And MILC rate of samples annealed in vacuum was higher than that of samples annealed in H2 ambient. When PECVD intrinsic Si was doped with boron only under the Ni-deposited area, the MILC rate was lower than that of PECVD intrinsic Si. However, when PECVD intrinsic Si was doped with phosphorus only under the Ni-deposited area, the MILC rate was almost the same as that of PECVD intrinsic Si. To explain these phenomena, we suggested an appropriate model.