Laser Doping and Crystallization of Amorphous Silicon Thin Films

Fast-pulse laser crystallization of amorphous silicon thin films on non-crystalline substrates provides a low-temperature process for generating polycrystalline silicon. This process can be augmented by including laser doping to reduce the number of process steps in the fabrication of thin-film polysilicon devices. We have studied the simultaneous laser crystallization and laser doping process, starting with amorphous silicon on fused silica substrates and using the gas immersion technique for the doping. n-type and p-type doping employed PF5 and BF3 gases, respectively. Films were characterized both structurally and electrically. The grain size increases with increasing laser energy density as the film becomes fully melted and reaches a peak value, similar to laser crystallization without doping. The dopant concentration increases with the number of laser shots and, with 100 shots, achieves a high dose with a low sheet resistance below 1000 ohms/square, appropriate for devices. The dopant profile extends to a depth comparable to the melt depth, beyond which it falls off to the background level. Therefore, the doping depth and concentration can be controlled with the laser parameters.