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An in Situ Hrem Study of Crystal Nucleation in Amorphous Silicon thin Films

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 February 2011

A. S. Kirtikar ,
J. Morgiel ,
R. Sinclair ,
I-W. Wu  and
A. Chiang
A. S. Kirtikar
Affiliation:
Dept. of Materials Science & Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305.
J. Morgiel
Affiliation:
Institute for Metals Research, Polish Academy of Science, Krakow, Poland.
R. Sinclair
Affiliation:
Dept. of Materials Science & Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305.
I-W. Wu
Affiliation:
Xerox Corporation, Palo Alto Research Center, Palo Alto, CA 94304.
A. Chiang
Affiliation:
Xerox Corporation, Palo Alto Research Center, Palo Alto, CA 94304.
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Abstract

In Situ high resolution electron microscopy has proved to be a valuable tool in investigations involving interface reactions in a number of thin film systems. We have applied this technique to dynamically record nucleation and growth sequences during the amorphous (a-) to crystalline (c-) phase transformation in silicon thin films. Interpretation of the recordings has yielded a wealth of information on the mechanisms and to some extent the kinetics of solid phase crystallization. In our recordings, we have been able to capture the critical nucleus at the a-Si-SiO2 interface. Incorporating this into classical nucleation theory enables us to make an estimate of the a-Si-c-Si interfacial energy.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 202: Symposium C – Evolution of Thin Film and Surface Microstructure , 1990 , 627
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1991

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References

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