Characterization of the MIC/MILC interface and its effects on the performance of MILC thin-film transistors

Author

Man Wong ; Jin, Zhonghe ; Bhat, Gururaj A. ; Wong, Philip C. ; Kwok, Hoi Sing

Author_Institution

Dept. of Electr. & Electron. Eng., Hong Kong Univ. of Sci. & Technol., Kowloon, Hong Kong

Volume

47

Issue

5

fYear

2000

fDate

5/1/2000 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

1061

Lastpage

1067

Abstract

Process and material characterization of the crystallization of amorphous silicon by metal-induced crystallization (MIC) and metal-induced lateral crystallization (MILC) using evaporated Ni has been performed. An activation energy of about 2 eV has been obtained for the MILC rate. The Ni content in the MILC area is about 0.02 atomic %, significantly higher than the solid solubility limit of Ni in crystalline Si at the crystallization temperature of 500°C. A prominent Ni peak has been detected at the MILC front using scanning secondary ion mass spectrometry. The MIC/MILC interface has been determined to be highly defective, comprising a continuous grain boundary with high Ni concentration. The effects of the relative locations of this interface and the metallurgical junctions on TFT performance have been studied

Keywords

crystallisation; elemental semiconductors; grain boundaries; secondary ion mass spectroscopy; semiconductor device measurement; silicon; thin film transistors; 500 degC; MIC/MILC interface; MILC thin-film transistors; Si; activation energy; continuous grain boundary; metal-induced crystallization; metal-induced lateral crystallization; metallurgical junctions; scanning secondary ion mass spectrometry; Amorphous silicon; Atomic measurements; Crystalline materials; Crystallization; Grain boundaries; Inorganic materials; Mass spectroscopy; Microwave integrated circuits; Solids; Temperature;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Electron Devices, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9383

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/16.841241

Filename

841241