Simultaneous nickel silicidation and silicon crystallization induced by excimer laser annealing on plastic substrate

Ni-Si reaction and alpha-Si crystallization on polyimide were simultaneously induced by excimer laser annealing. A similar to 8 nm Ni film was deposited on Si in such a way that Ni atoms were also distributed within the alpha-Si layer. The role of Ni atoms during crystallization and surface silicidation was studied in the submelting regime and modeled by diffusion-reaction equations. It has been found that the starting Ni distribution in alpha-Si and the thermal gradient due to the plastic were crucial to induce Si crystallization. At a threshold of similar to 0.2 J/cm(2) melting is induced in the polycrystalline silicon layer and in the residual alpha-Si.