Modeling of grain growth mechanism by nickel silicide reactive grain boundary effect in metal-induced-lateral-crystallization

The growth mechanism of metal-induced-lateral-crystallization (MILC) was studied and modeled. Based on the time evolution of the metal impurity in the amorphous silicon film being crystallized, a model has been developed to predict the growth rate and the final metal distribution in the crystallized polysilicon. The model prediction has been compared with experimental results and high prediction accuracy is demonstrated. Using the model, the effects of annealing temperature, annealing time and initial metal concentration on the final grain size and metal impurity distribution can be analyzed. As a result, the model can be used to optimize the grain growth conditions for fabricating high performance thin-film-transistors on the recrystallized polysilicon film.