Hydrogenation assisted nickel-induced lateral nano-crystallization of amorphous silicon on flexible plastic substrates at low temperatures

We report ultra low temperature lateral crystallization of amorphous silicon films on flexible plastic substrates suitable for the realization of thin-film transistors. A sequential hydrogenation and annealing is necessary to crystallize silicon films aided with an external mechanical stress at a temperature of 170 °C. Ni is used as the seed for the crystallization using a metal induced crystallization method. For the formation of polycrystalline-silicon thin-film transistors, a lateral crystallization is tried where the seed is placed on the source and drain regions and crystallization progresses from the seed regions towards the central parts of the channel of the thin-film transistor. Scanning electron and transmission electron microscopies were used to investigate the morphology and crystallinity of the layers. The fabricated lateral transistors show an on/off ratio of 2000 and an effective mobility of about 25 cm2/V s.