Low temperature polycrystalline silicon thin film transistors (LTPS poly-Si
TFTs) are essential for large area electronics and high performance flat
panel displays. In recent years, LTPS TFT performance has substantially
increased due to the important breakthroughs in the field of polycrystalline
silicon crystallization and also due to the optimization of the process
steps that differ from those of typical MOSFETs, mainly because of the
requirement for low temperature procedures. In this review we present the
electrical characteristics of polycrystalline silicon TFTs, crystallized
with different variations of the advanced SLS ELA technique, and the
determination of process technological parameters that affect the device
performance, in order to further optimize the production of such high
performance transistors, in terms of poly-Si microstructure, channel
dimensions and topology. Also, the effect of these fabrication parameters on
device degradation characteristics is studied, with an attempt to model and
predict degradation characteristics.