A high-performance polycrystalline silicon thin-film transistor using metal-induced crystallization with Ni solution

A new fabrication process for polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) thin-film transistors (TFTs) on glass substrate is reported. Amorphous silicon (a-Si) was crystallized by metal-induced crystallization (MIC) using a Ni solution for low-temperature crystallization. The a-Si film spin-coated with a 5000 ppm Ni solution was fully crystallized at 500°C. The poly-Si TFT made of the poly-Si exhibited a field-effect mobility of 105 cm²/Vs and a threshold voltage of -4 V. The high performance of the poly-Si TFT appears to be due to the absence of intragrain microdefects in the poly-Si, which is confirmed from the plane-view TEM image.