Crystallization induced by thermal annealing with millisecond pulses in silicon-on-insulator films implanted with high doses of hydrogen ions

The crystallization of silicon-on-insulator films, implanted with high doses of hydrogen ions, upon annealing with millisecond pulses is studied. Immediately after hydrogen-ion implantation, the formation of a three-phase structure composed of silicon nanocrystals, amorphous silicon, and hydrogen bubbles is detected. It is shown that the nanocrystalline structure of the films is retained upon pulsed annealing at temperatures of up to ∼1000°C. As the temperature of the millisecond annealing is increased, the nanocrystal dimensions increase from 2 to 5 nm and the fraction of the nanocrystalline phase increases to ∼70%. From an analysis of the activation energy of crystal phase growth, it is inferred that the process of the crystallization of silicon films with a high (∼50 at %) hydrogen content is limited by atomic-hydrogen diffusion.