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Nano-Crystalline Silicon Thin Film Transistors on PET Substrates Using a Hydrogenation-assisted Metal-induced Crystallization Technique

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

Saber Haji
Affiliation:
yaser@tfl.ir, Thin Film Laboratory, Department of Electrical and Computer Eng, University of Tehran, Tehran, Tehran, 14395/515, Iran
Farshid Karbassian
Affiliation:
karbassian@ieee.org, Thin Film Laboratory, Department of Electrical and Computer Eng, University of Tehran,, Tehran, Tehran, 14395/515, Iran
Shams Mohajerzadeh
Affiliation:
smohajer@sun1.vlsi.uwaterloo.ca, Thin Film Laboratory, Department of Electrical and Computer Eng, University of Tehran, Tehran, Tehran, 14395/515, Iran
Aida Ebrahimi
Affiliation:
yaser@tfl.ir, Thin Film Laboratory, Department of Electrical and Computer Eng, University of Tehran,, Tehran, Tehran, 14395/515, Iran
Yaser Abdi
Affiliation:
yaser@tfl.ir, Thin Film Laboratory, Department of Electrical and Computer Eng, University of Tehran, Tehran, Tehran, 14395/515, Iran
Michael D Robertson
Affiliation:
yaser@tfl.ir, Department of Physics, Acadia University, Wolfville, NS, B4P 2R6, Canada
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Abstract

The effects of RF-Plasma hydrogenation and applied mechanical strain on the crystallization of silicon layers deposited on plastic substrates have been investigated where the maximum temperature remained below 170 °C for the entire process. The structural properties of the samples have been studied by optical, scanning-electron and transmission-electron microscopies where the nano-crystallinity of the silicon layers has been confirmed. The maximum average diameter of the silicon grains was 4.5 nm and occurred for an applied tensile strain of 4 %. In addition, a thin-film transistor on a plastic substrate has been fabricated and found to possess an electron mobility of 2.4 cm2/Vs.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2006

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References

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