A Liquid Encapsulated Laser Recrystallization for Silicon-on-Insulator Structures

Seedless recrystallization of capped and uncapped silicon-on-insulator structures has been demonstrated using a new fabrication method in which the conventional laser melting technique was combined with a liquid encapsulating technique. Substantial increase in the grain size was observed in polycrystalline silicon films fabricated by the new method. The stabilization of the recrystallization process was likely due to features of the liquid encapsulation technique: i.e., effective heat release from the surface of molten silicon, resulting in control of vertical temperature profile.