Excimer-laser crystallization of silicon-carbon films and their thin-film transistor application

We have crystallized silicon-carbon ( SiC x ) film using the ArF excimer-laser annealing method. From the AES (auger electron spectroscopy) depth profile, the crystallized film was confirmed with uniform concentration of carbon in the film. The resistivity of an undoped film with a carbon content of 0.2 was decreased to about 2.3×10 2 Ω cm, and it changed only slightly even under intense illumination of AM1 100 mW/cm 2 . This film was used as the active layer of thin-film transistors (TFTs). The electron field-effect mobility was 0.35–2 cm 2 /Vs, which is similar to the typical mobility of the a-Si TFT.