Modeling of CW laser diode irradiation of amorphous silicon films

Abstract The purpose of this work is to determine the optimal parameters required to crystallize thin amorphous silicon films on glass substrate with a continuous wave (CW) laser diode ( λ  = 808 nm), using a numerical model developed in COMSOL Multiphysics. The numerical simulation of the laser crystallization process takes into account the solid–liquid phase change and the difference between the melting temperature of amorphous (Tm a-Si  = 1420 K) and that of crystalline silicon (Tm c-Si  = 1690 K). We have varied the main parameters controlling the crystallization process, namely the power and the scan speed of the laser beam. Furthermore the initial temperature as well as the thickness of the a-Si:H layer were also taken as a parameter to optimize the process. We have determined the melting, crystallization and ablation energy threshold versus the different operational parameters.