複晶矽及複晶矽鍺薄膜相較於非晶矽薄膜具有較佳的特性，如較高的電性與開口率等，近年來一直被積極研究來應用於光電元件的薄膜電晶體材料上；其中以金屬來誘發非晶矽薄膜結晶化(Metal-induced crystallization)是一種常被用來製作複晶薄膜的方法。因此為了要更了解非晶矽與非晶矽鍺結晶化的行為，本論文中將探討以金屬誘發或以外加電流方式將非晶矽及非晶矽鍺薄膜結晶化的行為，及以臨場電子顯微鏡(In-situ TEM)觀察金屬誘發非晶矽鍺薄膜結晶化過程。
首先，我們結合金屬誘發及電流誘發的方式得到一快速且具方向性的結晶方法，將非晶矽薄膜結晶化。此實驗已成功的在室溫下將厚度100 nm、長140 □m且寬10 □m經過BF2+離子佈值的非晶矽通道(channel)於0.2秒內完全轉變成複晶矽，並由實驗中觀察得知，此複晶矽的成長具有一優選方向，皆是由正極往負極方向成長，而由TEM影像中可發現所生成的複晶矽薄膜中具有平行通道方向長條狀晶粒且，此晶粒分佈的型態有助於電子遷移率的提升，另外因為通道中心跟邊緣區域散熱速度的不同會造成不同晶粒大小的分佈；於較高的外加限壓時(60 V)，可於複晶矽薄膜中觀察到一長為3 □m寬為50 nm的結晶矽晶粒(長寬比為60)，此結果顯示複晶矽晶粒的分佈型態會受到散熱速度與外加限壓所影響；另一方面，以不同的離子佈值於非晶矽薄膜中發現，不同的離子佈值存在並不會影響複晶矽成長的方向，其方向性的成長主要是由於正電鎳離子效應所造成。因此本實驗主要是由於外加高密度電流時所產的焦耳熱、強電場效應及鎳金屬誘發非結晶矽結晶化所引起，並成功的避免習知複晶矽薄膜須經高溫及長時間退火處理所產生的熱效應等問題。
另一方面，由於複晶矽鍺薄膜較複晶矽薄膜具有更高的載子移動率，以及較低的結晶溫度，所以比複晶矽薄膜更適用於製作低溫複晶薄膜(a-Si1-xGex, X= 0.3, 0.2)電晶體上。故我們以快速退火方法對不同成分比例的非晶矽鍺薄膜熱處理，並經由GIXRD、Raman、AES以及TEM等分析工具，藉以瞭解鎳金屬誘發非晶矽鍺薄膜結晶化之行為。由研究結果可得知：在較低的退火溫度下，鎳金屬會先與非晶矽鍺薄膜反應形成 Ni germanosilicides，其組成是由鎳、矽及鍺所組成的三元合金；在較高的退火溫度時，在複晶矽鍺薄膜與二氧化矽的界面會發現個別島狀型態的晶粒生成，這些個別島狀晶粒是由矽、鎳以及少量的鍺所組成的三元合金化合物，主要因為在高溫下，鎳傾向與矽反應增劇，所以會造成鍺的大量往外擴散；同時實驗中發現當鎳金屬存在時，非晶Si0.7Ge0.3與非晶Si0.8Ge0.2的結晶溫度分別會由500 ℃與600 ℃降至400 ℃與500 ℃，故以鎳金屬誘發非晶矽鍺薄膜結晶，可降低非晶矽鍺薄膜結晶化溫度約100 ℃，有助於低溫複晶薄膜電晶體製作。
最後，為了臨場(in-situ)觀察以silicide-forming及eutectic-formig兩種不同方式誘發非晶矽鍺薄膜結晶化的行為，所以我們以臨場的電子顯微鏡觀察以鎳與金兩種金屬誘發非晶Si0.8Ge0.2薄膜結晶化之行為。實驗時將試片放置於JEOL 2000V UHV-TEM中(base pressure 3 x 10-10 Torr)，所使用的可加熱試片座是具可雙向傾斜的，且其加熱方式是以電流通過矽基材方式來加熱。在以鎳誘發再結晶方面，在較低的退火溫度下Ni(Si1-yGey)2 析出物會先形成，隨著退火溫度或退火時間的增加，然後它會開始在非晶Si0.8Ge0.2薄膜中以直線方式移動，且其所經過的區域會生成結晶矽鍺，所以非晶Si0.8Ge0.2薄膜經由鎳金屬誘發後可發現needle-like狀的結晶區域；實驗中並發現其結晶方向在結晶化過程中會改變，改變的方向會平行於原先的成長方向，同時此時可發現Ni(Si1-yGey)2 析出物會沿著已結晶化與非晶區域的界面移動，此結晶化方式與以鎳誘發非晶矽薄膜結晶化後所得到的branching needle-like結構不同，原因可能是由於鍺存在所造成。另外，以金誘發再結晶方面，當退火溫度高於金與非晶矽鍺薄膜的共晶溫度時，在非晶Si0.8Ge0.2薄膜表面上的Au clusters會開始與非晶Si0.8Ge0.2薄膜反應熔融型成液態合金，隨著退火溫度或退火時間的持續增加，然後開始於非晶Si0.8Ge0.2中移動並使非晶矽鍺薄膜開始結晶化，最後由TEM分析中可發現150 nm厚的非晶矽鍺薄膜完全結晶化。本實驗已成功的利用臨場電子顯微鏡於500 ℃下以鎳與金誘發非晶Si0.8Ge0.2薄膜結晶化的過程。

Polycrystalline Silicon (poly-Si) and polycrystalline silicon-germanium (poly-SiGe) thin films are of interest as the basic channel materials in high performance thin film transistors for optoelectronic devices. Metal-induced crystallization of amorphous thin films is a useful method to fabricate the high performance polycrystalline thin films. In this dissertation research, the crystallization behaviors of a-Si and a-SiGe enhanced by the presence of metallic species or electric current are investigated.
Ultrafast directional crystallization that combined the electric current stressing with metal-induced crystallization has been achieved for BF2+-implanted amorphous Si (a-Si) at room temperature. Polycrystalline Si was observed to grow from anode towards cathode and the channels of a-Si strips with a length of 140 □m and a width of 10 □m can be fully crystallized with a stressing time less than 0.2 s. The directional growth of crystalline Si nanowires, 50 nm in width and as long as 3 □m in length, with an extraordinarily high aspect ratio of 60, indicates a strong electric- field-induced effect on the growth. The uneven thermal distribution in the a-Si channels also caused the variation in grain size between the central and edge regions along A-A’ direction. On the other hand, the effects of electric field and doping species on directional crystallization of a-Si channels under high-density current stressing have been also investigated. The a-Si channels were implanted by 30 keV BF2+ or As+ to a dose of 3 x 1015 ions/cm2. A preferential growth of poly-Si from anode toward cathode was found on BF2+, As+ and un-implanted a-Si samples. The results indicate that directional growth of poly-Si is caused by the strong electric field effect on positively charged Ni ions under high-density current stressing. In a word, the growth method provides a promising scheme to solve the problems caused by high-temperature and long-term annealing treatment for the applications of optoelectronic devices.
Metal-induced crystallization of amorphous Si1-xGex (x = 0.2 and 0.3) thin films on SiO2 by rapid thermal annealing at 300-600 oC has been investigated. At low annealing temperature, Ni reacted with a-Si1-xGex films to form Ni germanosilicides including Ni, Si, and Ge atoms. The crystallization temperature of a-Si0.7Ge0.3 and a-Si0.8Ge0.2 was lowered from 500 to 400 oC and 600 to 500 oC, respectively, with capping Ni. The individual grains of Ni germanosilicide were observed to form at the poly-SiGe/SiO2 interface in the annealed Ni/a-Si0.7Ge0.3 and Ni/a-Si0.8Ge0.2 samples after annealing at 500 oC. The formation of individual structure containing a small amount of Ge at the bottom of polycrystalline Si1-xGex films is attributed to the preferential reactions of Ni with Si to Ge.
In-situ observation of the morphological changes of the metals (including the silicide-forming metal and eutectic-forming metal) induced crystallization of a-Si0.8Ge0.2 films have been carried out. The crystallization of a-Si0.8Ge0.2 thin films induced by Ni and Au was observed by the in-situ transmission electron microscope. For the Ni-induced crystallization, NiSi2 precipitate was first formed then migrated along a straight line in a-Si0.8Ge0.2. The crystallization of a-Si0.8Ge0.2 was achieved along the path of NiSi2 migration. The needle-like crystal regions were obtained after Ni-induced crystallization of a-Si0.8Ge0.2. The change of the growth direction of the needle-like crystallites was also observed. The direction is parallel but opposite to the original growth direction. It appeared that the NiSi2 precipitates migrated along the interface of the crystallized and amorphous regions. The results were different from the branching needle-like structure for Ni-induced crystallization of a-Si and may be caused by the presence of Ge atoms. On the other hand, for the Au-induced crystallization, Au clusters was first melted above the eutectic temperature of the Au and a-Si0.8Ge0.2. Then, the Au alloys migrated on the a-Si0.8Ge0.2 to initiate the crystallization and the fully crystallized a-Si0.8Ge0.2 films were observed. The crystallization of the 150 nm-thick a-Si0.8Ge0.2 films can be enhanced by Ni and Au metals below 500 oC.

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Chapter 4 References

1. T. T. Sheng and C. C. Chang, “Transmission Electron Microscopy of Cross Section of Large Scale Integrated Circuits,” IEEE Trans. Electron Devices ED-23, 531-536 (1976).
2. N. Kato, H. Maruyama, and H. Saka, “Preparation of TEM Plan View Sections on Semiconductor Device Using the Tripod-Polisher and Chemical Etching,” J. Electron Microscopy 50, 9-13 (2001).
3. J. P. Benedict, R. M. Anderson, and S. J. Klepeise, “Preparation of TEM Plane View Section on Specified Devices Using The Tripod Polisher,” in Electron Microscopy of Semiconducting Materials and ULSI Devices, 523, edited by C. Hayzelden, C. Hetherington, and F. Ross, (Materials Research Society, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1998) pp. 19-30.

Chapter 5 References

1. K. Nakazawa, “Recrystallization of amorphous silicon films deposited by low-pressure chemical vapor deposition from Si2H6 gas,” J. Appl. Phys. 69, 1703-1706 (1991).
2. M. Hatano, S. Moon, M. Lee, K. Suzuki, and C. P. Grigoropoulos, “Excimer laser-induced temperature field in melting and resolidification of silicon thin films,” J. Appl. Phys. 87, 36-43 (2000).
3. S. D. Brotherton, D. J. McCulloch, J. P. Gowers, J. R. Ayres, and M. J. Trainor, “Influence of melt depth in laser crystallized poly-Si thin film transistors,” J. Appl. Phys. 82, 4086-4094 (1997).
4. L. Hultman, A. Robertsson, and H. T. G. Hentzell, I. Engstrom, and P. A. Psaras, “Crystallization of amorphous silicon during thin-film gold reaction,” J. Appl. Phys. 62, 3647-3655 (1987).
5. R. Kishore, A. Shaik, H. A. Naseem, W. D. Brown, “Atomic force microscopy and X-ray diffraction studies of aluminum-induced crystallization of amorphous silicon in Al/a-Si:H, a-Si:/Al, and Al/a-Si:H/Al thin film structures,” J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B21, 1037-1047 (2003).
6. S. W. Lee, B. I. Lee, T. K. Kim, and S. K. Joo, “Pd2Si-assisted crystallization of amorphous thin films at low temperature,” J. Appl. Phys. 85, 7180-7184 (1999).
7. H. Kim, J. G. Gouillard, and D. G. Ast, “Kinetics of silicode-induced crystallization of polycrystalline thin-film transistors fabricated from amorphous chemical-vapor deposition silicon,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 72, 803-805 (1998).
8. C. Hayzelden and J. L. Batstone, “Silicide formation and silicide-mediated crystallization of nickel-implanted amorphous silicon thin films,” J. Appl. Phys. 73, 8279-8289 (1993).
9. J. Jang, J. Y. Oh, S. K. Kim, Y. J. Choi, S. Y. Yoon, and C. O. Kim, “Electric-field-enhanced crystallization of amorphous silicon,” Nature, 395, 481-483 (1998).
10. S. H. Park, S. I. Jun, K. S. Song, C. K. Kim, and D. K. Choi, “Field aided lateral crystallization of amorphous silicon thin film,” Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 38, L108-L109 (1999).
11. S. I. Jun, Y. H. Yang, J. B. Lee, and D. K. Choi, “Electrical characteristics of thin-film transistors using field-aided lateral crystallization,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 75, 2235-2237 (1999).
12. S. Y. Yoon, S. J. Park, K. H. Kim, and J. Jang, “Metal-induced crystallization of amorphous silicon,” Thin Solid Films, 383, 34-38 (2001).
13. A. Khakifirooz, S. Mohajerzadeh, and S. Haji, “Field-assisted metal-induced crystallization of amorphous silicon films,” J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A19, 2453-2455 (2001).
14. M. A. T. Izmajlowicz, A. J. Flewitt, W. I. Milne, N. A. Morrison, “Directional nickel-induced fielded aided lateral crystallization of amorphous silicon,” J. Appl. Phys. 94, 7535-7541 (2003).
15. H. H. Lin, S. L. Cheng, C. Chen, L. J. Chen, and K. N. Tu, “Enhanced dopant activation and elimination of end-of-range defects in BF2+-implanted silicon-on-insulator by high-density current,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 79, 3971-3973 (2001).
16. T. Sameshima, N. Andoh, and H. Takahashi, “Rapid crystallization of silicon films using electrical-current-induced joule heating,” J. Appl. Phys. 89, 5362-5367 (2001).
17. T. Sameshima, Y. Kaneko, and N. Andoh, “Rapid crystallization of silicon films using Joule heating of metal films,” Appl. Phys. A, 73, 419-423 (2001).
18. Y. Kaneko, N. Andoh, and T. Sameshima, “Rapid joule heating of metal films used to fabricate polycrystalline silicon thin film transistors,” Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 41, L913-L915 (2002).
19. N. Andoh, and T. Sameshima, “Crystalline grain growth in lateral direction for silicon on thin films by electrical current-induced Joule heating,” Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 41, 5513-5516 (2002).
20. K. N. Chen, H. H. Lin, S. L. Cheng, Y. C. Peng, G. H. Shen, L. J. Chen, C. R. Chen, J. S. Huang, and K. N. Tu, "Silicide formation in implanted channels and interfacial reactions of metal contacts under high current density," J. Mater. Res. 14, 4720-4726 (1999).

Chapter 6 References

1. K. Nakazawa, “Recrystallization of amorphous silicon films deposited by low-pressure chemical vapor deposition from Si2H6 gas,” J. Appl. Phys. 69, 1703-1706 (1991).
2. S. D. Brotherton, D. J. McCulloch, J. P. Gowers, J. R. Ayres, and M. J. Trainor, “Influence of melt depth in laser crystallized poly-Si thin film transistors,” J. Appl. Phys. 82, 4086-4094 (1997).
3. G. Liu and S. J. Fonash, “Selective area crystallization of amorphous silicon films by low-temperature rapid thermal annealing,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 55, 660-662 (1989).
4. Z. Jin, G. A. Bhat, M. Yeung, H. S. Kwok, and M. Wong, “Nickel induced crystallization of amorphous silicon thin films,” J. Appl. Phys. 84, 194-200 (1998).
5. H. Kim, J. G. Gouillard, and D. G. Ast, “Kinetics of silicode-induced crystallization of polycrystalline thin-film transistors fabricated from amorphous chemical-vapor deposition silicon,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 72, 803-805 (1998).
6. S. W. Lee, B. I. Lee, T. K. Kim, and S. K. Joo, “Pd2Si-assisted crystallization of amorphous thin films at low temperature,” J. Appl. Phys. 85, 7180-7184 (1999).
7. C. Hayzelden and J. L. Batstone, “Silicide formation and silicide-mediated crystallization of nickel-implanted amorphous silicon thin films,” J. Appl. Phys. 73, 8279-8289 (1993).
8. T. J. King and K. C. Saraswat, “Polycrystalline silicon-germanium thin-film transistors,” IEEE Trans. Electron Devices, 41, 1581-1591 (1994).
9. C. W. Hwang, M. K. Ryu, and K. B. Kim, “Solid phase crystallization of amorphous Si1-xGex films deposited on SiO2 by molecular beam epitaxy,” J. Appl. Phys. 77, 3042-3047 (1995).
10. J. Olivares, A. Rodriguez, J. Sangrador, T. Rodriguez, C. Ballesteros, and A. Kling, “Solid-phase crystallization of amorphous SiGe films deposited by LPCVD on SiO2 and glass,” Thin Solid Films, 337, 51-54 (1999).
11. J. Olivares, P. Martin, A. Rodriguez, J. Sangrador, T. Jimenez, and T. Rodriguez, “Raman spectroscopy study of amorphous SiGe films deposited by low pressure chemical vapor deposition and polycrystalline SiGe films obtained by solid-phase crystallization,” Thin Solid Films, 358, 56-61 (2000).
12. A. Rodriguez, T. Rodriguez, J. Olivares, and J. Sangrador, “Nucleation site location and its influence on the microstructure of solid-phase crystallized SiGe films,” J. Appl. Phys. 90, 2544-2552 (2001).
13. O. H. Roh, W. J. Yun, and J. K. Lee, “Variation of spin densities and the solid-phase crystallization of amorphous Si1-xGex：H films,” J. Appl. Phys. 90, 2786-2791 (2001).
14. Z. Jin, G. A. Bhat, M. Yeung, H. S. Kwok, and M. Wong, “Solid-phase reaction of Ni with amorphous SiGe thin film on SiO2,” Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 36, 1637-1640 (1997).
15. J. Zhang, K. Shimizu, and J. Hanna, “Ni-seeding effects on the properties of polycrystalline silicon-germanium growth at low temperature,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 82, 1745-1747 (2003).
16. H. Kanno, I. Tsunoda, A. Kenjo, T. Sadoh, and M. Miyao, “Ge-fraction-dependent metal-induced lateral crystallization f amorphous Si1-xGex (0□x□1) on SiO2,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 82, 2148-2150 (2003).
17. T. Jarmar, J. Seger, F. Ericson, D. Mangelinck, U. Smith, S. L. Zhang, “Morphological and phase stability of nickel-germanosilicide on Si1-xGex under thermal stress,” J. Appl. Phys. 92, 7193-7199 (2002).
18. D. B. Aldrich, Y. L. Chen, D. E. Sayers, R. J. Nemanich, S. P. Ashburn, M. C. Ozturk, “Stability of C54 titanium germanosilicide on silicon-germanium alloy substrate,” J. Appl. Phys. 77, 5107-5114 (1995).
19. Z. Wang, D. B. Aldrich, Y. L. Chen, D. E. Sayers, R. J. Nemanich, “Silicide formation and stability of Ti/SiGe and Co/SiGe,” Thin Solid Films, 270, 555-560 (1995).
20. J. B. Lai and L. J. Chen, “Effects of composition n the formation temperatures and electrical resistivities of C54 titanium germanosilicide in Ti-Si1-xGex systems,” J. Appl. Phys. 86, 1340-1345 (1999).
21. L. J. Chen, J. B. Lai, and C. S. Lee, “High-resolution transmission electron microscopy of phase formation and growth in metal-Si-Ge systems,” Micron, 33, 535-540 (2002).

Chapter 7 References

1. R. R. Chromik, L. Zavalij, M. D. Johnson, and E. J.K. Cotts, “Calorimetric investigation of the formation of metastable silicides in Au/a-Si thin film multilayers,” J. Appl. Phys. 91, 8992-8998 (2002).
2. M. S. Ashtikar and G. L. Sharma, “Structural investigation of gold induced crystallization in hydrogenated amorphous silicon thin films,” Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 34, 5520-5526 (1995).
3. T. J. Konno and R. Sinclair, “Metal-contact-induced crystallization of semiconductors,” Mater. Sci. Eng. A 179/180, 426-432 (1994).
4. O. Nast, T. Puzzer, L. M. Koschier, A. B. Sproul, and S. R. Wenham, “Aluminum-induced crystallization of amorphous silicon on glass substrates above and below the eutectic temperature,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 73, 3214-3216 (1998).
5. C. Hayzelden and J. L. Batstone, “Silicide formation and silicide-mediated crystallization of nickel-implanted amorphous silicon thin films,” J. Appl. Phys. 73, 8279-8289 (1993).
6. M. Miyasaka, K. Makihira, and T. Asano, “In situ observation of nickel metal-induced lateral crystallization of amorphous silicon thin films,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 80, 944-946 (2002).
7. S. W. Lee, B. I. Lee, T. K. Kim, and S. K. Joo, “Pd2Si-assisted crystallization of amorphous thin films at low temperature,” J. Appl. Phys. 85, 7180-7184 (1999).
8. J. B. Lee, C. J. Lee, and D. K. Choi, “Influence of various metal elements on field aided lateral crystallization of amorphous silicon films,” Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 40, 6177-6181 (2001).
9. T. J. King and K. C. Saraswat, “Polycrystalline silicon-germanium thin-film transistors,” IEEE Trans. Electron Devices, 41, 1581-1591 (1994).
10. C. W. Hwang, M. K. Ryu, and K. B. Kim, “Solid phase crystallization of amorphous Si1-xGex films deposited on SiO2 by molecular beam epitaxy,” J. Appl. Phys. 77, 3042-3047 (1995).
11. J. Olivares, A. Rodriguez, J. Sangrador, T. Rodriguez, C. Ballesteros, and A. Kling, “Solid-phase crystallization of amorphous SiGe films deposited by LPCVD on SiO2 and glass,” Thin Solid Films, 337, 51-54 (1999).
12. J. Olivares, P. Martin, A. Rodriguez, J. Sangrador, T. Jimenez, and T. Rodriguez, “Raman spectroscopy study of amorphous SiGe films deposited by low pressure chemical vapor deposition and polycrystalline SiGe films obtained by solid-phase crystallization,” Thin Solid Films, 358, 56-61 (2000).
13. A. Rodriguez, T. Rodriguez, J. Olivares, and J. Sangrador, “Nucleation site location and its influence on the microstructure of solid-phase crystallized SiGe films,” J. Appl. Phys. 90, 2544-2552 (2001).
14. O. H. Roh, W. J. Yun, and J. K. Lee, “Variation of spin densities and the solid-phase crystallization of amorphous Si1-xGex:H films,” J. Appl. Phys. 90, 2786-2791 (2001).
15. H. Kanno, I. Tsunoda, A. Kenjo, T. Sadoh, and M. Miyao, “Ge-fraction-dependent metal-induced lateral crystallization of amorphous Si1-xGex (0□x□1) on SiO2,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 82, 2148-2150 (2003).
16. C. H. Yu, P. H. Yeh, S. L. Cheng, L. J. Chen, and L. W. Cheng, “Metal-induced crystallization of amorphous Si1-xGex by rapid thermal annealing,” Thin Solid Films, 469/470, 356-360 (2004).
17. M. Gjukic, M. Buschbeck, R. Lechner, and M. Stutzmann, “Aluminum-induced crystallization of amorphous silicon-germanium thin films,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 85, 2134-2136 (2004).
18. T. J. King and K. Saraswat, “A low-temperature (<550 oC) silicon-germanium MOS thin film transistor technology for large area electronics,” IEDM Technical Digest, 567-570 (1991).
19. N. Tanaka and M. Kawahara, “Time-resolved high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and high-angle annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy of metal-mediated crystallization of amorphous germanium films,” Mater. Sci. Eng. A, 312, 25-30 (2001).

Chapter 9 References

1. M. A. T. Izmajlowicz, A. J. Flewitt, W. I. Milne, and N. A. Morrison, “Directional nickel-induced field aided lateral crystallization of amorphous silicon,” J. Appl. Phys. 94, 7535-7541 (2003).
2. J. Jang, J. Y. Oh, S. K. Kim, Y. J. Choi, S. Y. Yoon, and C. O. Kim, “Electric-field-enhanced crystallization of amorphous silicon,” Nature, 395, 481-483 (1998).
3. S. H. Park, S. I. Jun, K. S. Song, C. K. Kim, and D. K. Choi, “Field aided lateral crystallization of amorphous silicon thin film,” Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 38, L108-L109 (1999).
4. A. Khakifirooz, S. Mohajerzadeh, and S. Haji, “Field-assisted metal-induced crystallization of amorphous silicon films,” J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A19, 2453-2455 (2001).
5. J. Gu, S. Y. Chou, N. Yao, H. Zandbergen, and J. K. Farrer, “Single-crystal Si formed on amorphous substrate at low temperature by nanopatterning and nickel-induced lateral crystallization,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 81, 1104-1106 (2002).
6. Y. Liu, M. D. Deal, K. C. Saraswat, and J. D. Plummer, “Single-crystalline Si on insulator in con fined structures fabricated by tow-step metal-induced crystallization of amorphous Si,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 81, 4634-4636 (2002).
7. K. Kempa, B. Kimbal, J. Rybczynski, Z. P. Huang, P. F. Wu, D. Steeves, M. Sennett, M. Giersig, D. V. G. L. N. Rao, D. L. Carnahan, D. Z. Wang, J. Y. Lao, W. Z. Li, and Z. F. Ren, “Photonic crystals based on periodic arrays of aligned carbon nanotubes,” Nano Lett. 3, 13-18 (2003).
8. C. G. Jin, W. F. Liu, C. Jia, X. Q. Xiang, W. L. Cai, L. Z. Yao, and X. G. Li, “High-filling, large-area Ni nanowire arrays and the magnetic properties,” J. Crystal Growth 258, 337-341 (2003).
9. Y. Wu, J. Xiang, C. Yang, W. Lu, and C. M. Lieber, “Single-crystal metallic nanowires and metal/semiconductor nanowire heterostructures,” Nature, 430, 61-65 (2004).
10. C. A. Decker, R. Solanki, J. L. Freeouf, J. R. Carruthers, and D. R. Evans, “Directed growth of nickel silicide nanowires,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 84, 1389-1391 (2004).
11. S. Ge, K. Jiang, X. Lu, Y. Chen, R. Wang, and S. Fan, “Orientation-controlled growth of single-crystal silicon-nanowire arrays,” Adv. Mater. 17, 56-61 (2005).