Fabrication of large-grained thin polycrystalline silicon films on foreign substrates by titanium-assisted metal-induced layer exchange

Metal-induced layer exchange (MILE) is a well-known method to grow large-grained high quality polycrystalline silicon on foreign substrates. We have modified the commonly used layer stack by an additional titanium interfacial layer (substrate/metal/titanium/oxide/amorphous silicon). The resulting layer exchange process is called titanium-assisted metal-induced layer exchange (Ti.MILE). For the investigated metals, Al (Ti.ALILE) and Ag (Ti.AgILE), the additional Ti layer does not affect the overall layer exchange process but results in a strong enlargement of the grains in the resulting polycrystalline silicon layer up to 250 mu m. We have investigated the influence of the titanium interfacial layer on the process dynamics and grain growth. Furthermore, the structural and optical properties of the resulting polycrystalline silicon layer are investigated by means of different analysis methods. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4768542]