Crystallization of Amorphous Silicon Layers RF-Sputtered on Sapphire by CW Ion Laser Annealing

Amorphous silicon layers deposited on sapphire with rf-sputtering have been annealed by scanning irradiation of continuous wave ion lasers. Raman scattering and Nomarski optical spectroscopy measurements have been made to investigate the crystallization of amorphous layers on sapphire. A sharp Raman line corresponding to the optic mode of crystalline silicon has been observed in the laser-annealed SOS, indicating a characteristic feature of recovering long-range order, that is, crystallization. The annealing process is shown to be induced by melting and subsequent crystal growth.