Experimental and Computational Analysis of Laser Melting of Thin Silicon Films

Recrystallization of thin semiconductor films can yield improved electrical and crystalline properties. The recrystallization is often effected by using a laser source to melt the semiconductor that has been deposited on an amorphous insulating substrate. This paper describes detailed experimental observations of the associated phase-change process. A computational conductive heat transfer model is presented. The numerical predictions are compared to the experimental results and good agreement is obtained.