Precursor Cat-CVD a-Si films for the formation of high-quality poly-Si films on glass substrates by flash lamp annealing

Amorphous Si (a-Si) films with lower hydrogen contents show better adhesion to glass during flash lamp annealing (FLA). The 2.0 µm-thick a-Si films deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), containing 10% hydrogen, start to peel off even at a lamp irradiance lower than that required for crystallization, whereas a-Si films deposited by catalytic CVD (Cat-CVD) partially adhere even after crystallization. Dehydrogenated Cat-CVD a-Si films show much better adhesion to glass, and are converted to polycrystalline Si (poly-Si) without serious peeling, but are accompanied by the generation of crack-like structures. These facts demonstrate the superiority of as-deposited Cat-CVD a-Si films as a precursor material for micrometer-thick poly-Si formed by FLA.