Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-vfjqv Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-25T12:46:54.869Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Improvement of Poly-Silicon Thin Films and Thin Film Transistors Using Ultrasound Treatment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 February 2011

S. Ostapenko ,
L. Jastrzebski ,
J. Lagowski  and
R. K. Smeltzer
S. Ostapenko
Affiliation:
Center for Microelectronics Research, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620
L. Jastrzebski
Affiliation:
Center for Microelectronics Research, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620
J. Lagowski
Affiliation:
Center for Microelectronics Research, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620
R. K. Smeltzer
Affiliation:
David Sarnoff Research Center, Princeton, NJ 08543
Get access

Abstract

Ultrasound treatment (UST) was applied to improve electronic properties of polycrystalline silicon films on silica-based substrates. A strong decrease of sheet resistance by a factor of two orders of magnitude was observed in hydrogenated films at UST temperatures lower than 100°C. This is accompanied by improvement of a film homogeneity as confirmed by spatially resolved photoluminescence study. The UST effect on sheet resistance demonstrates both stable and metastable behavior. A stable UST effect can be accomplished using consecutive cycles of UST and relaxation. An enhanced passivation of grain boundary defects after UST was directly measured by nano-scale contact potential difference with atomic force microscope. Two specific UST processes based on interaction between ultrasound and atomic hydrogen are suggested: enhanced passivation of grain boundary states and UST induced metastability of hydrogen related defects. We also demonstrate a utility of UST for improvement of leakage current and threshold voltage in hydrogenated poly-Si thin film transistors.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 424: Symposium H – Flat Panel Display Materials II , 1996 , 201
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1997

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1. Wu, I.W., Huang, T.Y., Jackson, W.B., Lewis, A.G., and Chiang, A., IEEE Elec.Dev.Lett., 12, 181 (1991).Google Scholar
2. Jackson, W.B., Johnson, N.M., Tsai, C.C., Wu, I.-W., Chiang, A., and Smith, D.. Appl.Phys.Lett., 61, 1670 (1992).Google Scholar
3. Ostapenko, S., Lagowski, J., Jastrzebski, L., and Sopori, B.. Appl.Phys.Lett., 65, 1555 (1994).Google Scholar
4. Ostapenko, S., Henley, W., Karimpannakkel, S., Jastrzebski, L. and Lagowski, J., in Defects and Impurity Engineered Semiconductors and Devices, ed. Ashok, S., Chevallier, J., Akasaki, I., Johnson, N.M., Sopori, B.L.. (Pittsburg, PA), 378, p.405.Google Scholar
5. Yokoyama, H. and Inoue, T., Thin Solid Films 242, 33 (1994).Google Scholar
6. Savchouk, A.U., Ostapenko, S., Nowak, G., Lagowski, J. and Jastrzebski, L.. Appl.Phys. Lett., 67, 82 (1995).Google Scholar
7. Tajima, M., J.Cryst.Growth, 103, 1 (1990).Google Scholar
8. King, O.and Hall, D.G., Phys.Rev.B, 50, 10661 (1994).Google Scholar
9. Nowak, G. and Lagowski, J., private communication.Google Scholar
10. 11. Nickel, N.H., Johnson, N.M., and Jackson, W.B., Appl.Phys.Lett., 62, 3285 (1993).Google Scholar
11. Nickel, N.H., Johnson, N.M., and Van der Walle, C., Phys.Rev.Lett, 72, 3393 (1994).Google Scholar
12. Van der Walle, C. and Nickel, N.H., Phys.Rev.B, 51, 2636 (1995).Google Scholar