Lateral solid phase epitaxy of amorphous Si films by selective surface doping method of p atoms

Lateral solid phase epitaxy (L-SPE) of amorphous Si (a-Si) films by a selective surface doping method of P atoms was investigated, in which P atoms were doped only in the surface layers of a-Si films. It was found that the L-SPE growth rate and the growth length from the seed region were changed by thickness of the P-doped layer, but they weakly depended on the thickness of the a-Si film. It was also found from cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy that the growth front of L-SPE in the surface P-doped sample was composed of a single facet. In order to explain these experimental results, a L-SPE growth model in the surface P-doped sample is proposed.