P‐71: On the Origin and Significance of Melting Dimensionality in ELA of Si films

Our recent investigations have revealed that substantially 2D melting transpires during the ELA process. In this paper, we first present the experimental finding that shows how this behavior at least stems intrinsically from the presence in the material of melt‐prone grain boundaries and superheating‐permitting Si‐oxide interface. We also point out, and substantiate with numerical simulation results, that the manifested dimensionality of melting can figure in affecting (1) the energy utilization efficiency of the ELA method, as well as (2) the microstructural uniformity of the resulting polycrystalline materials.