Pulse laser crystallization of silicon carbon thin films

The pulsed laser crystallization of amorphous silicon carbon (aSiC) thin films have been implemented by using XeCl excimer laser. The aSiC thin films were prepared on silicon and quartz substrates by pulsed laser deposition. The surface morphology, atomic order and phase of the asdeposited and post annealing films have been analyzed by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and Raman scattering spectroscopy. AFM results show that aSiC films can be nanocrystallized at a proper laser energy. The size of nanocrystals in the post annealing films increases with the laser energy density; the separation into crystalline silicon and carbon after laser annealing is identified through Raman analysis. The mechanism of the pulsed laser crystallization of aSiC films is discussed to account for the post annealing characteristics.