The Interface Effect on the Growth of Al Induced (111) Oriented Silicon Films

In the present work, (111) oriented polycrystalline Si thin films on SiO2 glass substrates have been obtained by the aluminum induced crystallization (AIC) method. The annealing temperatures and time for the Si induced crystallization were optimized experimentally. The effects of the SiO2 layer at the Al/Si interface on the oriented crystallization of the Si layer were investigated, with the re- sults being compared for the different SiO2 thicknesses. By reactive oxidation of the aluminum surface depositing alumina Al2O3, the effect of the surface oxidation on the microstructure of the Si films were further studied. It was found that the resultant dense Si film has a lower void density on the surface. With an amorphous Si layer being deposited on the Al induced crystallized Si film, a polycrystalline Si film with (111) oriented growth was obtained by a rapid thermal annealing, which is applicable for the polycrystalline Si solar cells.