Multicrystalline silicon films with large grains on glass:: preparation and applications

Polycrystalline silicon films on glass with grain size exceeding 10 mu m by far are of growing interest for thin film solar cells as well as for TFTs in flat panel displays Grains as large as this arise preferably from solidification of the melt. The most successful method for preparing such films is laser melting and crystallization of amorphous silicon which may be deposited at temperatures well below the softening point of glass substrates. By making use of a laser the silicon melting time can be short enough as not damage the substrate. Moreover, by using an appropriate laser irradiation process, a temperature regime can be chosen so as to influence the nucleation rate and growth kinetics to get grain sizes over 100 mu m in size. (C) 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.