TWO-DIMENSIONAL PATTERNED NANOCRYSTALLINE Si ARRAY PREPARED BY LASER INTERFERENCE CRYSTALLIZATION OF ULTRA-THIN AMORPHOUS Si:H SINGLE-LAYER

Abstract

We employ the method of phase-modulated KrF excimer pulsed laser interference crystallization to fabricate nanometer-sized crystalline silicon with two-dimensional patterned distribution within the ultra-thin amouphous Si:H single-layer. The local phase transition occurs in ultra-thin a-Si:H film after laser interference crystallization under proper energy density. The results of atomic force microscopy, Raman scattering spectroscopy, cross-section transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy demonstrate that Si nanocrystallites are formed within the initial a-Si:H single-layer, selectively located in the discal regions with the diameter of 250 nm and patterned with the same 2D periodicity of 2.0 μm as the phase-shifting grating. The results demonstrate that the present method can be used to fabricate patterned nc-Si films for device applications.