The effect of substrate temperature and interface oxide layer on aluminum induced crystallization of sputtered amorphous silicon

2004 ◽  
Vol 808 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maruf Hossain ◽  
Husam Abu-Safe ◽  
Marwan Barghouti ◽  
Hameed Naseem ◽  
William D. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Substrate Temperature ◽  
Amorphous Silicon ◽  
Oxide Layer ◽  
Environmental Scanning ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Layer Sequence ◽  
Si Films ◽  
Induced Crystallization ◽  
Al Oxide ◽  
Aluminum Induced Crystallization

ABSTRACTThe effect of substrate temperature and interface oxide layer on aluminum induced crystallization (AIC) of amorphous silicon (a-Si) is investigated. The effect of substrate temperature on the AIC process was studied by changing the deposition temperate of a-Si from 200 to 300°C in a Al/a-Si/glass configuration. To study the effect of interface oxide on AIC, samples with a-Si/Al/glass, a-Si/Al-oxide/Al/glass, and Al/Si-oxide/a-Si/glass configurations were prepared at a fixed substrate temperature. The samples were annealed in the temperature range from 300°C to 525°C for different periods of time. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns confirmed the crystallization of the a-Si films in the various configurations. From the analysis, we report that crystallization of a-Si happen at 350°C annealing temperature in the Al/a-Si/glass configuration. However, with or without the presence of Si-oxide at the interface, crystallization saturated after annealing for 20 minutes at 400°C. On the other hand, when Al-oxide is present at the interface, higher annealing temperatures and longer annealing times are required to saturate the crystallization of a-Si. Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope (ESEM) and Energy Dispersive X-Ray (EDX) mapping were used to study the surface morphology as well as the layer sequence after crystallization. This analysis revealed that Si-Al layer-exchange happens regardless of the deposited film configuration.

scholarly journals Fabrication of Large-Grain Thick Polycrystalline Silicon Thin Films via Aluminum-Induced Crystallization for Application in Solar Cells

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
Hsiao-Yeh Chu ◽  
Min-Hang Weng ◽  
Chen Lin
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Polycrystalline Silicon ◽  
X Ray Diffraction ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Second Stage ◽  
Silicon Thin Films ◽  
Si Films ◽  
Two Stages ◽  
Induced Crystallization ◽  
Aluminum Induced Crystallization

The fabrication of large-grain 1.25 μm thick polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) films via two-stage aluminum-induced crystallization (AIC) for application in thin-film solar cells is reported. The induced 250 nm thick poly-Si film in the first stage is used as the seed layer for the crystallization of a 1 μm thick amorphous silicon (a-Si) film in the second stage. The annealing temperatures in the two stages are both 500°C. The effect of annealing time (15, 30, 60, and 120 minutes) in the second stage on the crystallization of a-Si film is investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. XRD and Raman results confirm that the induced poly-Si films are induced by the proposed process.

Polysilicon Films Formed on Metal Sheets by Aluminium Induced Crystallization of Amorphous Silicon: Barrier Effect

2009 ◽  
Vol 1153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prathap Pathi ◽  
Ozge Tüzün ◽  
Abdelilah Slaoui
Keyword(s):  
Amorphous Silicon ◽  
Electron Beam Evaporation ◽  
Degree Of Crystallinity ◽  
X Ray Diffraction ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Coated Metal ◽  
Metal Sheets ◽  
Different Temperatures ◽  
Si Films ◽  
Induced Crystallization

AbstractPolycrystalline silicon (pc-Si) thin films have been synthesized by aluminium induced crystallization (AIC) of amorphous silicon (a-Si) at low temperatures (≤500°C) on flexible metallic substrates for the first time. Different diffusion barrier layers were used to prepare stress free pc-Si films as well as to evaluate the effective barrier against substrate impurity diffusion. The layers of aluminum (Al) and then amorphous silicon with the thickness of 0.27 μm and 0.37 μm were deposited on barrier coated metal sheets by means of an electron beam evaporation and PECVD, respectively. The bi-layers were annealed in a tube furnace at different temperatures (400-500°C) under nitrogen flow for different time periods (1-10hours). The degree of crystallinity of the as-grown layers was monitored by micro-Raman and reflectance spectroscopies. Structure, surface morphology and impurity analysis were carried out by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and EDAX, respectively. The X-ray diffraction measurements were used to determine the orientation of grains. The results show that the AIC films on metal sheets are polycrystalline and the grains oriented in (100) direction preferentially. However, the properties of AIC films are highly sensitive to the surface roughness.

Aluminum-Induced Crystalization of Amorphous Silicon Films Deposited by Megnetron Sputtering

2013 ◽  
Vol 690-693 ◽  
pp. 1655-1658
Author(s):  
Jun Qian ◽  
Wei Min Shi ◽  
Jing Jin ◽  
Ji Rong Li ◽  
Yang Liao
Keyword(s):  
Raman Spectroscopy ◽  
Magnetron Sputtering ◽  
Amorphous Silicon ◽  
Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy ◽  
Nucleation And Growth ◽  
X Ray Diffraction ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Annealing Procedure ◽  
Si Films ◽  
Induced Crystallization

Aluminum–induced crystallization of sputtered a-Si under two-step annealing procedure on glass substrate is studied. A 200 nm thick a-Si film was deposited by magnetron sputtering on glass and a Al film of 150 nm was sputtered on top. The samples were annealed under two-step annealing procedure. Nucleation and growth of grains were followed by optical microscopy (OM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). Continuous (111) oriented poly-Si films were obtained with a Raman Peak at 520.8cm-1. The different annealing periods is discussed.

Thickness-Dependent Micro-Raman Measurement of Poly-Si Films Prepared by Metal-Induced-Crystallization using a Ni Layer

2000 ◽  
Vol 609 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shin-ichi Muramatsu ◽  
Yasushi Minagawa ◽  
Fumihito Oka ◽  
Yoshiaki Yazawa
Keyword(s):  
Amorphous Silicon ◽  
Cross Section ◽  
Polycrystalline Silicon ◽  
X Ray Diffraction ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Metal Induced Crystallization ◽  
Raman Measurement ◽  
Si Films ◽  
Induced Crystallization ◽  
Uniform Composition

ABSTRACTRelatively thick amorphous silicon films for solar-cell applications were prepared by metal-induced-crystallization (MIC). Then, the thickness-dependent characteristics of micro-Raman spectra from a cross section of the prepared polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) films were analyzed. It was found that Ni-induced crystallized films have a uniform composition that is 80% polycrystalline and 20% nanocrystalline. Also, the x-ray diffraction data show that a sub-mono-layer of Ni is sufficient for MIC of 6-μm-thick amorphous silicon (a-Si) films.

Polycrystalline silicon thin films by aluminum induced crystallization of amorphous silicon

2013 ◽  
Vol 264 ◽  
pp. 11-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Wang ◽  
H. Yan ◽  
M. Zhang ◽  
X. Song ◽  
Q. Pan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thin Films ◽  
Amorphous Silicon ◽  
Polycrystalline Silicon ◽  
Silicon Thin Films ◽  
Induced Crystallization ◽  
Aluminum Induced Crystallization
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