Solution-Based Metal Induced Crystallization of Amorphous Silicon Films

2013 ◽  
Vol 652-654 ◽  
pp. 1765-1768
Author(s):  
Xiao Lei Qu ◽  
Jing Jin ◽  
Wei Min Shi ◽  
Yu Feng Qiu ◽  
Lu Huang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Grain Size ◽  
High Temperature ◽  
Amorphous Silicon ◽  
Spin Coating ◽  
Annealing Process ◽  
Crystalline Fraction ◽  
Metal Induced Crystallization ◽  
Amorphous Si ◽  
Si Films ◽  
Induced Crystallization

A viscous Nickel (Ni) solution was applied on amorphous Si films by spin coating and its effect on the crystallization of amorphous Si films was investigated with a two-step annealing process. The experimental results show that with the help of the two-step annealing, the crystallization of the film can take place at 500oC. At the same time, the crystalline fraction gets up to 79.4% after annealing at a high temperature of 520oC and the grain size of the polycrystalline Si films is approximately 200 nm.

Optimization of the metal/silicon ratio on nickel assisted crystallization of amorphous silicon

2005 ◽  
Vol 869 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Pereira ◽  
M. Beckers ◽  
R.M.S. Martins ◽  
E. Fortunato ◽  
R. Martins
Keyword(s):  
Amorphous Silicon ◽  
Spectroscopic Ellipsometry ◽  
Crystallization Time ◽  
Crystalline Fraction ◽  
Nickel Metal ◽  
Metal Induced Crystallization ◽  
Structural Improvement ◽  
Short Annealing ◽  
The One ◽  
Induced Crystallization

AbstractThe aim of this work is to optimize the metal/silicon ratio on nickel metal induced crystallization of silicon. For this purpose amorphous silicon layers with 80, 125 and 220 nm thick were used on the top of which 0.5 nm of Ni was deposited and annealed during the required time to full crystallize the a-Si. The data show that the 80 nm a-Si layer reaches a crystalline fraction of 95.7% (as detected by spectroscopic ellipsometry) after annealed for only 2 hours. No significant structural improvement is detected by ellipsometry neither by XRD when annealing the films for longer times. However, on 125 nm thick samples, after annealing for 2 hours the crystalline fraction is only 59.7%, reaching a similar value to the one with 80 nm only after 5 hours, with a crystalline fraction of 92.2%. Here again no significant improvements were achieved by using longer annealing times. Finally, the 220 nm thick a-Si sample is completely crystallized only after 10 hours annealing. These data clear suggest that the crystallization of thicker a-Si layers requires thicker Ni films to be effective for short annealing times. A direct dependence of the crystallization time on the metal/silicon ratio was observed and estimated.

Metal-induced crystallization of hydrogenated amorphous Si films

Physica B+C ◽  
1983 ◽  
Vol 117-118 ◽  
pp. 953-955 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.C. Tsai ◽  
R.J. Nemanich ◽  
M.J. Thompson ◽  
B.L. Stafford
Keyword(s):  
Metal Induced Crystallization ◽  
Amorphous Si ◽  
Si Films ◽  
Hydrogenated Amorphous ◽  
Induced Crystallization

Two-Step Annealing for Solution-Based Metal Induced Crystallization of Amorphous Silicon Films

2014 ◽  
Vol 1052 ◽  
pp. 109-114
Author(s):  
Jing Jin ◽  
Xiao Lei Qu ◽  
Wei Min Shi
Keyword(s):  
Amorphous Silicon ◽  
Salt Solution ◽  
Annealing Temperature ◽  
Chemical Vapor ◽  
Metal Induced Crystallization ◽  
Annealing Conditions ◽  
Eds Analysis ◽  
Metal Atoms ◽  
Si Films ◽  
Induced Crystallization

Solution-based nickel (Ni)-induced crystallization (S-MIC) of amorphous silicon (a-Si) films has been studied with a two-step annealing process. We especially introduced Ethyl cellulose (EC) into the Ni-salt solution, so the viscous Ni-salt solution can be uniformly spin-coated on the a-Si film prepared by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). The annealing temperature can be first set from room temperature (RT) to 400°C and kept at 400°C for 2 h in nitrogen ambience. And then, it is increased from 500°C to 550°C and kept for several hours in the following annealing. The correlations among crystallization, the concentrations of Ni-salt solution and annealing conditions can be discussed. The experimental results show that with the help of the two-step annealing, the a-Si films can be crystallized at a low temperature of 500°C. The crystalline fraction gets up to 81.2% after annealing at 520°C for 2 h and the grain size of the polycrystalline Si film is approximately 0.2 μm. Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analysis shows that very little Ni metal atoms reside in the crystallized Si film for S-MIC.

Optically Assisted Metal-Induced Crystallization of Thin Si Films for Low-Cost Solar Cells

2001 ◽  
Vol 685 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Chen ◽  
Bhushan Sopori ◽  
Kim Jones ◽  
Robert Reedy ◽  
N. M. Ravindra ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Grain Orientation ◽  
Deposition Temperature ◽  
Crystallization Front ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Metal Induced Crystallization ◽  
Glass Substrates ◽  
Amorphous Si ◽  
Si Films ◽  
Induced Crystallization

AbstractOptically assisted, metal induced crystallization (MIC) was used to convert amorphous Si films, deposited on Al coated glass substrates, into polycrystalline Si (pc-Si). The study investigated the effects of deposition temperature, process temperature, and film thickness on the grain orientation, grain size, and crystallization front of the processed films. Furthermore, we have attempted to examine the role of Al in MIC – in particular, whether the metal can be confined to the interface while grain enhancement occurs.

Directed Crystallization of Amorphous Silicon Deposits on Glass Substrates

2007 ◽  
Vol 26-28 ◽  
pp. 623-628 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dong Nyung Lee
Keyword(s):  
Annealing Temperature ◽  
Chemical Vapor ◽  
Film Plane ◽  
Directed Crystallization ◽  
Random Orientation ◽  
Metal Induced Crystallization ◽  
Glass Substrates ◽  
Amorphous Si ◽  
Si Films ◽  
Induced Crystallization

Amorphous Si films are generally deposited on glass by physical or chemical vapor deposition. When annealed, they undergo crystallization through nucleation and grain growth. At low annealing temperatures, crystallization starts near the glass substrates for pure Si films and near metals for metal-induced crystallization. In this case, crystallites grow along the <111> directions of c-Si nearly parallel to the film plane, that is, the directed crystallization. The directed crystallization is likely to develop the <110> or <111> orientation, which means the <110> or <111> directions are along the film thickness direction. As the annealing temperature increases, equiaxed crystallization tends to increase, which in turn increases random orientation. When the annealing temperature is further increased, the <111> orientation may be obtained.

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.

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