Simultaneous Activation and Crystallization by Low-Temperature Microwave Annealing for Improved Quality of Amorphous Silicon Thin-Film Transistors

Abstract

In this study, activation and crystallization in short channel amorphous Si TFTs were demonstrated using a novel microwave annealing (MWA) technique. Both low-temperature MWA and rapid thermal annealing (RTA) were compared to study the dopant activation level. We successfully activated the source/drain region, improved the electronic mobility and suppressed the short-channel effects using low temperature MWA. This can reduce the annealing temperature and processing time below that of solid phase crystallization (SPC). This technique is promising for realizing a high utility rate of AM-LCDs with low cost. (C) 2012 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.