Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 February 2011
Based on the artificially controlled super-lateral growth approach, we have developed a novel excimer-laser-based high-substrate-temperature method for producing single-crystal Si islands on SiO2. By irradiating a photolithographically preconfigured sample, complete melting of an Si film is induced only at precisely predesignated locations within patterned and physically isolated islands. An intentionally incompletely melted section within each island initiates lateral growth of crystalline grains. A “bottleneck” portion of the island permits only one of the laterally growing grains to propagate into the main portion of the island. The low nucleation-to-growth-rate ratios that are attainable with high substrate temperatures (1000–1200 °C) can lead to nearly unlimited lateral growth distances; with a proper combination of the substrate temperature and the island dimension, the main area of an island—up to 50×50 μm2 in area—is readily converted into a large single-crystal region.