Crystallization of thin amorphous silicon films on glass by magnetron sputtering and flash lamp annealing

Flash lamp annealing (FLA) is an innovative annealing method already used in semiconductor industry, for flexible electronics and for thin, functional coatings on glass. Due to the short time scale of milliseconds, FLA is cost and time effective, suitable for temperature-sensible substrates and allows the exploitation of non-equilibrium crystallization processes.
In this contribution we present a new approach in which magnetron sputtering is combined with FLA. In detail, thin polycrystalline Si films have been fabricated and characterized with respect to their structural, optical and electrical properties. Special focus is set on the non-equilibrium crystallization process within the millisecond time scale. Furthermore, strategies to avoid thermal stress, to minimize defects and to obtain layers with a low electrical resistivity are discussed.