Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 February 2011
Basic mechanisms for both Ni- and Pd-metal induced lateral crystallization (MILC) are investigated. For both cases, tiny silicides were formed under the metal deposited area, and propagated toward amorphous Si films leaving crystallized Si behind at temperatures as low as 500 °C. Ni-MILC was influenced by Pd such that the lateral crystallization rate was enhanced, and the temperature for the lateral crystallization was lowered to 450 °C. Through TEM analysis and external stress experiments, it was found that the enhancement of the lateral crystallization rate was closely related to the compressive stress generated by the formation of nearby Pd2Si.