The grain boundaries in laser-crystallized polycrystalline thin films were studied by means of electron microscopic analysis; using electron back-scattering contrast in the scanning electron microscope and convergent-beam electron diffraction in the transmission electron microscope. It was found that the grain boundary populations of grains larger than 0.5μm were dominated by first-order and second-order twin boundaries. This was found to be a general feature of laser crystallization, regardless of the details of the laser crystallization process. Texture analysis of laser-crystallized polycrystalline films showed that, under certain experimental conditions, a {111} preferential orientation of the grains perpendicular to the substrate could be obtained.

Nature of Grain Boundaries in Laser Crystallized Polycrystalline Silicon Thin Films. S.Christiansen, P.Lengsfeld, J.Krinke, M.Nerding, N.H.Nickel, H.P.Strunk: Journal of Applied Physics, 2001, 89[10], 5348-54