Influence of Si film thickness on growth enhancement in Si lateral solid phase epitaxy

Abstract
Lateral solid phase epitaxial growth (L‐SPE) of Si on SiO2 film was investigated as a function of deposited amorphous Si (a‐Si) film thickness. Both the L‐SPE rate and the annealing time necessary for {111} facet formation increased with film thickness. As a result, a large L‐SPE length (9 μm) under {110} facet growth was obtained for a 1.6‐μm‐thick film sample. Above the critical film thickness (>2 μm), crack formation in a‐Si films was observed during deposition. This indicates that intrinsic stresses play an important role in this growth enhancement.