Patent ID: 6635555
Filing Date: 2003-10-21
Classification: H01L

Abstract:
A method of forming polycrystalline films on a substrate comprising the steps of:a) providing a substrate; b) depositing an amorphous silicon film on the substrate to a thickness of at least 100 nm; c) annealing the amorphous silicon film using a lateral crystallization process comprising a sequence of laser pulses projected through a mask having a narrow slit to project a beamlet onto the surface of the amorphous silicon film to crystallize the amorphous silicon film as the beamlet is advanced over the surface of the amorphous silicon film between successive laser pulses to produce a polycrystalline film having a predominantly <100> crystallographic orientation in the rolling direction; and d) polishing the polycrystalline film to a thickness of less than 60 nm to prepare the film for further processing.