Effect of photons on atoms in crystallization of amorphous silicon films

TL;DR

This study investigates how photon-involved rapid thermal annealing influences the crystallization orientation of amorphous silicon films, revealing photons' role in directing preferential lattice orientations during crystallization.

Contribution

It demonstrates that photon involvement in thermal annealing alters silicon crystallization orientation, highlighting photons' impact on atomic arrangement during film crystallization.

Findings

Photon-involved annealing favors (220) orientation.

Conventional annealing favors (111) orientation.

Photons influence atomic projection planes during crystallization.

Abstract

The preferentially (220) orientated polycrystalline silicon films have been fabricated by performing photon-involved rapid thermal annealing upon amorphous silicon films. In contrast, conventional thermal annealing of the silicon amorphous films results in the preference of (111) orientated crystallization. This difference reveals the overlooked impaction of photons upon silicon atoms, which results in the preferential orientation of lattice plans with the smallest density of atoms on their projection plane rather than the lowest energies.