Abstract
A high-resolution transmission electron microscopy study of the solid phase crystallization of the amorphous silicon thin films, deposited on SiOS12T at 52$0^{\circ}C$ by low pressure chemical vapor deposition and annealed at 55$0^{\circ}C$ in a dry N$_{2}$ ambient was carried out so that the arrangement of atoms in the crystalline silicon and at the amorphous/crystalline interface of the growing grains could be understood on an atomic level. Results show that circular crystalline silicon nuclei have formed and then the grains grow to an elliptical or dendritic shape. In the interior of all the grains many twins whose{111} coherent boundaries are parallel to the long axes of the grains are observed. From this result, it is concluded that the twins enhance the preferential grain growth in the <112> direction along {111} twin planes. In addition to the twins. many defect such as intrinsic stacking faults, extrinsic stacking faults, and Shockley partial dislocations, which can be formed by the errors in the stacking sequence or by the dissociation of the perfect dislocation are found in the silicon grain. But neither frank partial dislocations which can be formed by the condensation of excess silicon atoms or vacancies and can form stacking fault nor perfect dislocations which can be formed by the plastic deformation are observed. So it is concluded that most defects in the silicon grain are formed by the errors in the stacking sequence during the crystallization process of the amorphous silicon thin films.
