Au metal-induced lateral crystallisation (MILC)of hydrogenated amorphous silicon thin film with very low annealing temperatureand fast MILC rate

The Au metal-induced lateral crystallisation (Au-MILC) of a-Si:H film has been investigated under various crystallisation conditions. By annealing at 400°C for 10 h, the MILC rate induced by Au can be as large as 15.9 µm/h which is much faster than that possible with Ni and Pd. Owing to the very low annealing temperature treatment (≤ 400°C), the Au-MILC process represents an important technique for fabricating low cost ICs with poly-Si TFT structure on conventional glass substrate.