Effect of annealing time on aluminum-induced crystallization of silicon suboxide thin films

Polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) thin films were obtained by aluminium induced crystallisation of amorphous silicon suboxide (a-SiOx , x = 0.22) via annealing of a-SiO0.22 /Al bilayer structures at 550 °C for 4 - 30 h. The a-SiO0.22 /Al thickness ratio was approximately 1. According optical microscopy measurements, the crystallized fraction reached the saturation value of 85% after annealing for 20 h. The further increase in the annealing time didn’t lead to an increase in this value. X-ray diffraction measurements revealed that the formed poly-Si had a strong Si (111) preferred orientation.