Investigations on crack generation mechanism and crack reduction by buffer layer insertion in thermal-plasma-jet crystallization of amorphous silicon films on glass substrate

The crack generation mechanism and the effect of crack reduction by buffer SiO2 layer insertion in thermal-plasma-jet (TPJ) crystallization of an amorphous silicon film on a glass substrate have been investigated. The crack generation was clearly observed 13.7 s after TPJ irradiation using a high-speed camera, which indicates that cracks are generated not during heating, but during cooling. From the measurement and simulation of substrate deformations, it was clarified that the substrate deformed convexly during heating and it consequently deformed concavely after cooling owing to the substrate surface densification. This result indicated that the tensile stress generated by the concave deformation is the origin of cracks. The deposition of the buffer SiO2 layer generated compressive stress, which minimizes accumulation of tensile stress after TPJ annealing. The number of cracks in unit length significantly decreased owing to the decrease in tensile stress with the increase in the thickness of the buffer SiO2 layer.